A Simple Wager Between Brothers
by BecMcKeown
Summary: Kol makes a secret wager with Klaus involving a kiss from Caroline...the kiss has to be given, not taken. Both originals compete against each other to win the heart of Miss Forbes. But what happens when Caroline finds out? Will she be angry or will she use it to her advantage? In the end it causes consequences and at least one persons heart broken. Kol/Caroline/Klaus
1. Chapter 1 A Normal Life

**A Normal Life**

"One more time guys! Let's get this right!" Caroline shouted from the front of the group.

It was a hot day in April, and the Mystic Falls cheerleading squad were preparing for the final game of the regular season. If the football team won this game, they would go to the first round of the Virginia Championships, and it was their responsibility to cheer them on and get them into game spirit.

Caroline hadn't felt this good in ages in spite of everything that had happened; her father dying, being one of her biggest problems, Rebekah tormenting her on a daily basis, not being able to see Tyler, and of course the original family being reunited again only stirred up even more trouble for Caroline. But after being deprived of a simple life for months on end, Caroline loved every moment of 'normal' she could get. Her blonde hair was thrown up in a messy pony tail, the sweat making her t-shirt stick to her and out of breath, she'd never felt better.

She focused on the routine, leading the group into correct posture. She cleared her mind. No drama, no idiotic vampires, no stupid schemes. Just step, turn, jump, and flip. Caroline performed it perfectly, everyone in awe of her elegant form.

Rebekah eyed her rather suspiciously, like she always did. Ever since she joined the squad, she made Caroline's life a living hell, but she couldn't blame her; everyone wanted to captain the cheerleading team, but Caroline was far more motivated then any one of them, and therefore more suited for the job. There was no way Rebekah could steal that away from her. Because of Caroline and her creative laidback style, the cheerleading squad actually performed some pretty decent moves.

They finished early for the day because of the heat, and Caroline didn't like the idea of working her team too hard. Usually the blonde didn't mind the heat or even the humidity, but today was just ungodly. She was thankful for the daylight ring otherwise she'd be in ashes right about now.

Caroline walked over to the side benches, grabbing a clean towel to dry her sweaty forehead. "Wanna go for a run with me?" Caroline asked one of the girls. Every day after practice, she went for a run around campus and down the back roads of town before heading home. Usually she went for about three miles, sometimes four or five if she really needed to clear her head. It was also a good way to control her hunger. Once in a while Elena would meet up with her and tag along, but usually everyone else was too exhausted from practice.

"Are you serious?" the girl replied her face scrunched up. "We've just been practicing for over an hour, and you want to work out?" Caroline was a little taken aback. It wasn't that bad getting a little more out of the evening. "So I'll take that as a no?" "That's a no," she responded grabbing her bag and placing it over her shoulder.

"Maybe next time then." The girl scoffed shaking her head, turning back towards the school.

Caroline shrugged her shoulders grabbing a water bottle and taking a sip. She placed it in her duffle bag that was lying on the bench where she would retrieve it on her way back. It was still quite warm in the afternoon, the sun shining down through the trees, casting a golden glow over the entire town of Mystic Falls.

She started off with a fast paced walk.

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"Someone caught your attention, dear brother?" Klaus merely stated since he knew it was true. Kol folded his arms across his chest, "You could say that." He'd been watching a particular vampire girl on the sidelines with a keen eye, intrigued by her determination and elegance. "I'm not sure if it's the blonde hair or the very provocative top." Klaus smirked, he definitely wasn't disgusted with the new invention of the crop top girls always seemed to enjoy wearing.

"Rebekah would be touched," Klaus teased. Kol looked at him in disbelief, "Not her you psycho, the pretty little head cheerleader. Now she's an eyeful." Klaus nodded his head in approval. He also had kept a keen eye on her lately; she was a woman of many talents.

They both were leaning against the fence, patiently waiting for their sister to finish. Kol insisted on coming with Rebekah because anywhere was better than being cooped up in that house, and of course Klaus wanted to tag along only to supervise his younger sibling, all of a sudden feeling like the affectionate supporting brother. But he knew how reckless and foolish Kol could be.

Caroline hadn't noticed them both watching her as she started to casually power-walk around the sport's oval to get herself warmed up. Rebekah approached the two brothers, a towel in one hand with a drink bottle in the other. She was still panting, tired from the workout, but she'd eventually recover soon enough.

"Had fun Rebekah?" Klaus asked her. He couldn't see why she wasted her time with such trivial high school sports.

"Yes, it was quite stimulating," Rebekah answered, taking a sip from her drink bottle, "Gets a lot off my mind, you know the whole dagger in my heart thing; you should try it sometime." Klaus rolled his eyes, making his frustration obvious. His family insisted on constantly blaming him for everything, after all the things he'd done for them.

"Urgh, pass," Klaus responded. Kol was ignoring their conversation and still watching the stunning blonde vampire girl out on the field.

"So what were you two birdbrains doing during practise?" Rebekah asked her brothers.

"I was actually admiring your lovely vampire friend, what was her name again?" Kol asked turning to Klaus. He responded with, "Caroline."

"Ah, Caroline," Kol reacted in content. Rebekah scoffed clearly not amused by her brother's attraction. "She's not my friend; I don't make it a habit to be friends with a vampire bitch."

"You sound a tad jealous," Kol taunted. Rebekah opened her mouth slightly but closed it again unable to find a suitable response. So she merely flicked her hair out of her face and looked away from her two brothers, annoyed at the both of them. Sometimes she despised being the only girl amongst her brothers.

Kol noticed Caroline head off the school's campus, down a secluded road. "Where's she going?" Kol asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "She goes running after practice every so often," Rebekah stated.

"Does she now?" Kol grinned. This was a good opportunity he would not let pass up. "If you two would excuse me, I got some…pressing issues to attend to." And with that Kol disappeared in a flash, leaving his two siblings behind.

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**The Stranger**

Caroline's heart raced as she neared the top of the long-graded hill she had been pushing up. This road was the ideal place for her because, even though it was narrow, it was also well-paved and there was rarely a car to be seen. It gave her a chance to clear her mind. The buildings on either side also raised high enough to block out the sun, so she didn't have to worry about being too hot or burning to a crisp.

Usually she'd have earplugs in her ears and blast music with a nice steady rhythm, unafraid that she'd miss the sound of an approaching car even worse, a garbage truck. But without the music, she could clearly hear anything from a mile radius, including the slight whisper of her name being called from behind her. She stopped suddenly and turned around, looking back down the alley way.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice slightly echoing. Caroline took a few deep breaths through her nose to try to slow the erratic pace of her heart and lungs. She'd been running much faster today than normal. But that was understandable, something weird happened almost everyday of her life, including now.

"Caroline, isn't it?"

Swiftly turning to her left, she saw a young man leaning against the brick wall, dark eyes staring straight at her. "Uh…yeah," Caroline looked at him a bit closer, and noticed a few of his recognizable features. She couldn't quite pin-point where she'd seen him before, but that cold stare was a huge reminder.

"You look familiar, do I know you?" She spoke promptly a bit suspicious. He got up from his leaning stance and walked closer towards her.

"That depends, I've met a lot of people, and I think I'd remember a pretty face like yours." He reached out and touched the side of her cheek, but she quickly slapped it away. The young man didn't seem bothered by it, so he casually circled around her. "Then how do you know my name," she responded harshly.

"I've have my sources." He circled back round to face her, eyes staring into hers.

Caroline knew in a matter of seconds she could run away at full speed, but something kept her there. He gave off a dangerous yet seductive vibe, that she couldn't quite tell the difference between the two. And then she noticed a ring on his finger, similar to hers. In that moment she realised.

"Vampire…" she whispered unintentionally, instantly regretting it. He narrowed his eyes slightly, but his confidence never faltered. "Nice work detective. Figured that out all by yourself?" Caroline frowned at his sarcastic comment.

"Go screw yourself," she replied angrily. Caroline assumed the vampire would eventually become irritated, and just walk away, but he managed to keep a cheerful look on his face, showing his obviously arrogant and cocky attitude. "Wow, snarky little vamp aren't we."

"Stay away from me whoever you are," she warned. The vampire lifted his hands in the air, showing his surrender, a cheeky smirk planted on his face.

"Now why would I do that?" He went to grab her wrist, but Caroline reacted without thinking. She pushed him up against the wall taking him by surprise, and in an instant snapped his neck with no problem whatsoever. He dropped to the ground with a thump, his neck loosely flopping to the side.

Caroline finally breathed out a breath she had been holding. She reached down and lifted up the hem of her pants. A wooden stake was taped to her leg, a precaution she always made in case something like this happened. She ripped it off her skin, throwing the tape to the side.

The body started to flinch, which meant he would wake up any second. Caroline firmly grabbed the stake and drove it through his most vulnerable spot. The heart. It was a necessary thing to do. Who knows how many innocent people the vampire had killed or was going to kill?

His face went grey, veins exposing onto his skin. She pulled the stake out, and lifted up his body, throwing it into the garbage disposal nearby. Caroline smiled to herself. A job well done she thought. That'd teach him for messing around with Caroline.

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Kol trudged through the door slamming it hard behind him. He almost fell over against the door, still weak from the stake being driven into his heart. Klaus briefly looked up from his sketch but continued what he was doing, acting like everything was perfectly normal. He smiled as Kol marched angrily across the room.

"Rough day?" Klaus didn't even know why he bothered asking. Curiosity perhaps?

"Yeah, you could say that," he responded, taking off his jacket that was covered in compost and placing it on the coat rack. "I was having a pleasant conversation with the lovely Caroline and then, out of nowhere, she snapped my neck and staked me." Klaus's smiled widened even more. He knew Caroline's reaction to Kol's charming personality would be somewhat…unpleasant. He rather hoped. Caroline was someone he admired, and he didn't get that too often. Most girls these days have a rather aggressive attitude. Klaus found that out the hard way, so he often stayed away from any complicated situations.

"Your problem Kol, is that you're too forward with women. It's not the 1900s anymore, women aren't as easily seduced." Kol rolled his eyes, not believing Klaus was giving _him _advice about women.

"Yeah, but I could have died," Kol complained. He jumped onto the couch, not even caring how dirty his clothes were, legs dangling over the side. "But you didn't," Klaus pointed out. He looked back at his sketch and started carefully shading in the refection of the window.

"Yeah but she didn't know I was an original. So she knew I would die." Kol looked over at his brother that was grinning like a little child. "What are you smiling at?"

"Oh, nothing," Klaus stated. Kol scoffed looking at him in disbelief. His brother was no help; it was as if Klaus wanted Caroline to hate him. "Wait a minute…" Kol started, sitting up from the couch. "You knew she'd react this way. You knew she'd immediately dismiss me." Something immediately clicked. Now Kol knew why Klaus was acting the way he had been.

"Believe what you like brother," Klaus uttered casually.

"Aaahh," Kol realised, reading right through Klaus, "You like her…" Klaus looked at him in surprise, but kept perfectly calm, not letting his expression drop any hints about his attraction for Caroline.

"You really have gone mental Kol," he responded, casually brushing the subject off. But of course his brother wouldn't leave it alone, another annoying trait about him. Kol was never the one to back down so easily.

"C'mon, just admit it. I mean, what's not to like about her?" Kol beamed at the sight of his brother so uncomfortable. Klaus sighed. "If I admit it, would you leave it alone?" Kol shrugged his shoulders, still smiling at his older brother. "Maybe," was all he responded with.

"Fine, I do admire Caroline somewhat…" Klaus admitted.

"I knew it." Klaus put down his drawing, and faced Kol.

"How did you know?" He asked, very curious about his brother's sudden change in intelligence.

"I saw the package on the dining table that was addressed to Caroline. It had a rather lovely ball gown in it…" Kol explained.

"Your point?" Klaus was wondering where this was leading to, Kol always had an ulterior motive.

"Nothing, I was just curious that's all." Kol's expression said otherwise. He was always up to something, but Klaus could never figure it out. Kol could read Klaus like an open book, but Klaus would always have to assume stuff that ran through Kol's mind was actually sane.

"I have an idea," Kol suggested. Klaus raised his head at Kol, knowing full well that when his brother had an idea, it always involved him. "But…you have to do it with me." And there it was, Kol being so predictable but Klaus on the other hand being easily manipulated.

"This can't be good," Klaus assumed.

"It's nothing too bad," assured Kol, looking a bit too chirpy. Klaus knew that look Kol had on his face…it was the one that he always wore before he did something to really mess things up. "But don't go telling anyone."

"Fine…what is it?"

"Just a little contest, you know, to make things interesting." At those words, Klaus perked up a little in interest. He always loved a good competition, because he loved the idea of winning. "How bout we keep journals too. Recount every embarrassing moment you make. And compare notes when it's over." Klaus frowned at his comment. What was Kol planning?

"So how bout it brother? Will you do it?" Kol asked.

"Are you gonna tell me what it is first?" Klaus wasn't stupid; he didn't want to agree to it beforehand without knowing full well what he was getting himself into. "Why, are you afraid?" Kol smiled at his own comment, noticing Klaus tense up a little.

"Kol…" Klaus warned.

"Alright alright…it's simple, the first one to get a kiss from Caroline, wins," Kol explained. Klaus smiled, knowing full well he had this one. "And a kiss on the cheek doesn't count. It has to be real."

Klaus contemplated whether or not to do the contest. He didn't want to agree to one of Kol's games again, it always ended badly for him. But refusing would be cowardice, and Klaus was not a coward. It wasn't like him to back down from anything, even if it was one of Kol's stupid games. So what was he going to do?

"Alright then I'm in."

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**A/N: IMPORTANT – **Okay, so here's how it's gonna work. If you go into my profile, there will be a poll. Each chapter I will make a new poll and you have to vote in the poll about what happens next in the story. That's right, you, my fellow readers will have an effect on how the story goes.

The poll will include stuff like, who you want the chapter to be based on, any plotlines, sentences etc.

At the end of each chapter I will post the results of the poll that helped form that chapter. If no one votes I will be sad, but I will continue writing :) And I apologise if things seemed to move along too fast in this chapter, I just wanted to start it off straight away.


	2. Chapter 2 Needing a Distraction

**Needing a Distraction**

Klaus let the door to his room slam shut, leaning his head against it, slamming his fist hard into the wood of the door. He shut his eyes tightly and counted to ten, letting a slow breath out through his nose. He had no clue how exactly he got himself involved in another one of Kol's pointless games, but he refused to tell him no. Klaus was that stubborn. It would be like yielding in a fighting tournament, cowering underneath the opponent's weapon; not something Klaus would do willingly.

It was near impossible for Klaus to refuse a challenge. A small part of him got such a thrill from besting the Salvatore brothers, leaving them hanging by a single thread. But of all the people to lose to...Klaus could notlose to _Kol_. And he wasn't planning to. Klaus already had the upper hand by having a slight relation with Caroline; he just had to wait for Kol to make his next move.

Although, Klaus still should never underestimate his brother's persistence. Most women were never able to resist Kol's charming personality. But Caroline isn't like _most _women.

He calmed himself down from the slight burst of anger, breathing a long ragged breath out through his nose. After gathering himself, he headed out into the main living room of the house. Kol was obviously nowhere to be found…figures. His brother was always finding ways to entertain himself, quite the restless one Klaus always thought. Kol usually kept up the stereotype of being the youngest sibling, him and Rebekah.

Klaus marched into the living room, looking around for any sign of his siblings. None. They all had their own business to attend to.

"Niklaus, you seem a bit agitated. Is something wrong?" walking in the living room, Elijah's voice suddenly emerged, noticing a concerned expression on his siblings face.

Klaus looked suddenly towards his brother, wondering exactly why he was so curious. "Yes actually, it seems that…" Klaus quickly stopped himself from speaking, remembering that he couldn't give away any details of 'the wager' as Kol liked to call it. "…that Kol has disappeared yet again." Elijah gave Klaus a blank look, a bit surprised of Klaus' sudden distress in his younger brother.

"Very well then," Elijah spoke suspiciously, removing his coat draped over the arm chair. He placed it on his shoulders, pushing each arm through each of the sleeve holes. "I'll keep a close eye out for Kol."

"Yes, that would be very worthwhile," Klaus stated mildly, as if not having the slightest interest in Elijah's assistance. Klaus quickly walked out of the room, heading towards the front door. Anywhere was better than being cooped up in this house. Maybe Klaus had some of Kol's attributes after all.

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"He just came out of nowhere, but I sure taught him a thing or too." Elena looked shocked as Caroline told her story of the mysterious vampire she encountered yesterday afternoon. Caroline had described every detail of her experience, making sure not to leave out how she 'bravely' drove a stake through his heart…Caroline liked to brag.

Sitting across from Elena, Caroline made sure she kept her voice at a low volume in case the remnants of the grill would over hear their interesting conversation. They would always get suspicious looks from people when talking about vampires. Apparently it wasn't the trending topic of Mystic Falls. Practically half the town still don't know vampires exist.

"Yeah, by killing him. Are you sure that was the best idea?" Caroline shrugged her shoulders, not sure of her answer.

"Well he would've just killed another innocent human being anyway." She kept telling herself the same thing over and over. In truth she was unsure of herself. She didn't know the vampire, maybe he was similar to her, only drinking from the local blood banks and not feeding on innocent human blood. But a feeling inside her knew it wasn't true.

"Uh-huh…why do I get the feeling you're not telling the truth? You weren't seduced by his charm were you," Elena questioned. Caroline looked at her friend in shock, not believing the words emanating from her mouth.

"What? No. I'm with Tyler…well…on a break with Tyler…" Elena gave her a look that suggested otherwise. "You know what I mean," Caroline folded her arms clearly showing her irritation, looking anywhere but at Elena.

"C'mon, just tell me the truth. You can tell me anything," Elena reassured. Caroline sighed, knowing full well she couldn't hide the facts from Elena for long. Caroline was the worst when it came to secrets, or keeping things from others, it was sadly, her biggest weakness.

"Fine," Caroline surrendered, taking a deep breath as if preparing for a speech. "He was charming…handsome…and had this _really_ cute British accent…"

"…and you killed him," Elena interrupted, sounding overly mundane.

"Well don't sound too disappointed…I mean he was a _vampire_," Caroline responded, whispering the word 'vampire.' It was her best decision killing him. Not only was he a complete _ass_, he also seemed totally reckless and out of control. He was not someone Caroline wanted to get involved with.

"And plus, he had this really creepy-seductive-semi-stalkerish vibe, a bit similar to Klaus actually." Caroline wouldn't admit it to anyone, but in truth, she liked the attention she got yesterday in the alley way. The young man had been rather attractive, in some ways.

"Urgh…I'm gonna go get another drink to dull the regret I'm feeling now." Caroline rose slowly from the table, ignoring Elena's expression of concern. Her friends are always so paranoid about each other's emotions, even if Caroline can clearly take care of herself.

She approached the bar pushing aside her thoughts of the previous events; she mustn't dwell too much on the past. The Grill was surprisingly empty. It was usually packed will people this time of evening. Caroline wasn't complaining though, there were quite a number of angry drunks in this town.

Sitting on one of the bar stools, Caroline waited for the bartender, who seemed to be having an interesting conversation with one of the locals. _Lazy slob, _she thought. Caroline sighed, being rather impatient with her order.

"Charming, handsome with a really cute British accent. And here I thought I'd lost my touch after 1000 years."

Caroline's eyes widened at the voice suddenly behind her. She turned around quickly, recognizing whoever belonged to that voice straight away. His smug expression covered his face, as he slid himself down on the stool next to her. He acted like everything was perfectly normal as Caroline looked at him in complete surprise, trying to accept what was playing out right in front of her.

"How…what…I killed you?" Caroline stuttered, clearly not as amused as he was.

"You did…" he simply stated. "I just have this nasty habit of…not dying." Leaning over the counter, he searched for the appropriate drink intended for the occasion, not caring if anyone noticed. He fumbled around and finally pulled out two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey, placing them both on top of the bar.

"What do you want with me?" Caroline asked, suspicious of the repercussions.

"Well…"he started, pouring the whiskey into both of the glasses, slightly overflowing…"I forgot to introduce myself the other day. I thought it was very rude of me." Once he poured his glass, he lifted it towards his mouth, quickly swallowing the substance. He tightened his lips together from the excessive taste, placing the glass down. "I've been called many names, but most people refer to me as Kol…"

"…I know who you are. You're one of the Mikaelson brothers." Caroline promptly took one of the shot glasses swallowing it straight down, no problem. She grimaced at the strong taste it possessed.

"So you have heard of me then," Kol acknowledged, raising both his eyebrows while smirking widely towards Caroline. He carelessly poured a second round for the both of them, filling it to the very brink of the glass. Caroline consumed the shot of whiskey Kol had poured, slamming it down hard onto the bar. She was already starting to feel the effects of the drink, which was not a good thing…for her.

"Yes…I have," Caroline responded, "You were the one that was dead for almost a century…that must've really sucked." She chuckled slightly, imagining the thought of him being completely defenceless in that coffin. Being dead for one-hundred years, is a very long time, even for a vampire. Caroline couldn't even imagine waking up after that long must've felt like.

Kol scoffed at Caroline's response, lifting up his shot. "Yes, that was an…unfortunate experience…but one must move on." Kol swallowed the rest of his shot. He gave up pouring another round and instead grabbed the whole bottle. He drank most of it down, feeling his throat burn from the initial taste. Kol passed it to Caroline who took it without question, lifting the bottle towards her mouth.

"Your hormones must be raging," Caroline mentioned, taking just a small sip, she stared intently into his eyes as she did so, observing his striking features. He stared back, knowing full well he had her attention.

Kol leaned in further towards Caroline their noses almost touching, slowly taking the bottle from her grasp purposely brushing his fingers over hers. His lips lingered above hers for a short moment, feeling her warm breath touch his skin. It would be so easy winning the wager. She was right within his reach, a mere few millimetres more and he'd win the bet between him and Klaus instantly. But Kol was stubborn; he wanted to drag it out for as long as possible.

Instead, he lightly pressed his lips to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin. "You have no idea," he whispered gently, his voice vibrating against Caroline's ear. Goosebumps formed along her neck from the light contact at the base of her ear. The touch caused her to let out a short gasp, making her heart flutter; a reaction she did not expect.

He placed his hand along her thigh, slowly rubbing up and down. As his hand went further up, alarm bells were finally triggered in Caroline's head. She shook her head side to side, whacking Kol's hand off her leg.

"No…no no…I can't do this." Caroline stood abruptly from the bar stool, staggering a bit before gathering herself together. "Not with you…not with any original vampire. Or with anyone for that matter! I'm already spoken for."

Kol quickly grabbed her arm pulling her back, before she could get away so fast. "Woah, slow down there darling. Where do you think you're going?" Caroline faltered in her steps, noticing Kol's firm grasp. She tried pulling away, but he was insistent on her remaining still.

"Away from you before I do something I'll regret." Caroline tore her arm away from his grasp, storming off in a hurry. She needed to get away from him as fast as possible.

Elena had left apparently, because the table they had been previously sitting at was empty. Caroline sighed. Elena must've seen her talking to the apparent 'mystery man.' Not a mystery man anymore, that's for sure.

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Caroline marched out of the Grill angrily, not impressed with how the day had turned out. She woke up this morning planning a nice simple day at school, planning for the upcoming social event, since she was in fact head of the social committee, and Caroline always organised the best.

She had organised a dinner date with Elena to plan out the event, going with a Hawaiian Luau style theme, to brighten up the occasion. But everything hadn't gone according to plan, and Caroline always liked to follow a strict plan. It was her way to keep organised.

Reaching for her bag, Caroline rummaged around searching for her car keys while continuing to walk towards her car. It was harder to find in the dark and the lighting was very poor from the car park. Opening her bag up more, she quickly started filing out the junk left in her bag, but as she did, she bumped into something that was soft but very solid. She felt arms grab her shoulders steadying her stance.

Caroline looked up at the figure that was in her way, sighing a deep breath of frustration.

"You. How is it possible? Am I really that unlucky today?" Caroline asked rhetorically.

"Well good evening to you to lovely," Klaus spoke smiling over Caroline.

**A/N: **Okay, so this chapter didn't go as expected, but either way, you sorta get the picture of Kol's and Caroline's relationship development. There will be more Klaroline next chapter, hopefully, if everything goes to plan. And I apologise for the shortness, it's been a busy week. I've had pretty much no internet for almost two weeks, been having to run on this slow portable internet modem thing which I have to share with the whole family. It sucks…

But, here are the poll results as promised:

"Woah, slow down there darling, where do you think you're going?" (Kol) - 55 percent

"What are you planning Kol?" (Elijah) - 33 percent

"Hello love. How's the plotting of my death going?" (Klaus) - 11 percent

"Would you just leave me alone, can't you see I'm not interested." (Caroline) - 0 percent

"How bout you just leave her alone." (Elena) - 0 percent

"I honestly don't get the appeal. She's not angel." (Rebekah) - 0 percent

It was tough and go there for a bit between Kol and Elijah, but our last two voters fixed that. Thanks guys for voting and reviewing! And thus, the next poll begins:

**What character do you want the next chapter to be based around?**

The poll is up now in my profile if you wanna vote! (oops, sorry about delay in poll. but its up now. i keep forgetting to change the display of poll from no to yes, how annoying is that? :P)


	3. Chapter 3 Never Get High on Cruel Words

**Never Get High on Such Cruel Words**

**Klaus's Checklist of Do's and Don'ts on anger management and control issues **

**DON'T **dagger Kol in hopes of receding the wager.

**DO **break his neck.

**DON'T **think about a certain pretty blonde vampire.

**DO **try to avoid Kol

**DO **remember to think before doing.

**DON'T **think about a certain pretty blonde vampire.

**DON'T **get too excited when she bumps into you on your way to the Grill.

**DON'T **be disappointed when she called you a pompous jerk

**DON'T **get angry when you find out Kol had been flirting with Caroline.

**DO **break his neck.

**DON'T **ask about Kol.

**DO **try to act casual when you're asking about him.

**DO **change the subject when your vague description only serves to confuse Caroline.

**DON'T **bring it up again…

Until tomorrow

**DO **remember to be polite and non-violent around Caroline.

**DON'T **be flattered when she says you're less creepy than Kol.

**DO **remain relaxed when she asks what you're doing at the Grill…

"Well I…' Klaus looked at Caroline with a rather calm expression, wanting nothing more than to just walk away from such an uncomfortable situation, "…am just so ecstatic about reuniting with my family, I just had to celebrate by having a few drinks."

**DO **stop talking. Anytime now.

Klaus cleared his throat, keeping his expression smooth. "So, I guess it's about time we have a drink. Join me, Caroline?" Narrowing her eyes, Caroline felt a bit unsettled. She was surprised how gullible he thought she was…it was insulting.

In response to his impulsive advances, she folded her arms across her chest, showing an expression of distrust towards him…didn't it always.

"Uh…I think I'd rather die," she responded sarcastically, giving him the once over.

"Oh c'mon Caroline. Don't be like that," he called to her as she turned away from him, walking in the other direction. Caroline ignored his comment, not caring all that much. She must learn not to be pushed around by other vampires. It already happened to her once today.

Klaus chuckled slightly, very pleased with his rash words spoken to Caroline. But who was he to care. He was an original. He simply wanted to win Kol's stupid wager and be done with it. "I hope you'll reconsider going to the ball tomorrow night?" He asked, shouting rather loudly. Klaus sped up to her, stopping right in front of her small form.

She stepped back suddenly, trying to avoid bumping into Klaus for the second time today. He towered over her, standing way too close for her liking. "Go to hell Klaus!" Caroline retorted, pushing his chest back away from her.

The hybrid seized her arm suddenly, pulling her into him. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, dragging the back of his hand across her cheek.

Caroline stood still, completely stunned by his sudden movements. Klaus smiled down onto her, brushing his hand across the arch of her back. She remained still for a short moment, mesmerized by Klaus's advances.

"You got to stop being so rude towards me Caroline." She stared at him for a second more, still firmly pushed up against Klaus's sturdy form, before slapping him harshly across the face. Her action completely stunned Klaus, making him step back a bit from her.

Turning away from Klaus unceremoniously, Caroline could almost hear his face curve into a smile as she walked further away from him. He liked a woman on top.

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Kol Mikaelson had an objective.

Live out an eternity of pleasure and freedom, and piss off as many people as possible. Ever since returning from over a century of being in that coffin, Kol found it far more difficult to achieve his goal.

Vervain had contaminated most of his food; he had to find out that little detail for himself. And his infinite addiction to the pure taste of fresh human blood only made it much, much worse. There was nothing more he desired than his craving for blood. The hunger grew inside of him, tearing at his insides, a feeling he could not control.

However, ever since he had been awoken from his long time being dead, the humans had grown a lot smarter, and somewhat harder to seduce. For some reason, Kol had become even more defiant when controlling his need for blood. He was a stubborn vampire who always had to get his way no matter the costs.

Walking outside of the Grill, into the cold dark night, just how Kol liked it, he noticed a rather young woman seated by the bench just opposite the road, the wood creaking underneath her weight. She had her arms folded together, burying her face into the top of her coat. The woman was shivering from the freezing temperature, the light of the crescent moon shone down onto her form, casting a shadow over the ground.

Even though it was too dark for the human eye to see, Kol was able to distinguish everything around him as clearly as day, if not more. He could smell the strong sweetness emanating from her blood, the warm liquid pumping through her veins. Kol closed his eyes, absorbing the scent through his nose; a worthy prey on this fine night.

The smell was so intense he wanted to have his way with her then and there. But these things took time. Kol must learn some self-control if he wanted to relish in the moment. His features were on the brink of changing; holding back wasn't an easy task.

A small noise behind her made her jump and turn around to look behind her. She was wary what to expect, but when she saw nothing, she seemed a bit shocked. The woman turned back around satisfied that whatever had been there was gone.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Kol spoke abruptly, making the woman jump. Standing next to the bench she was seated on, Kol stared at her with a profound look.

"Yes, it is. A bit chilly though," she responded gently, glaring at him curiously. The girl rubbed her legs, hoping to warm herself up a bit from chilly temperature. Kol sat down next to her, leaning his form backwards against the seat, lazily placing an arm over the top of the bench. He crossed his legs over in a relaxed position, looking towards his prey.

"What's your name love?" Kol asked curiously. Gathering information about his prey was the first step.

"I'd better go. I was warned about talking to strange people in this town," she spoke softly. Her posture was very tense, which meant his presence made this woman very uncomfortable. He wondered why. She grabbed her bag, quickly rising from the bench.

Kol seized her arm before she could leave so fast. He stood coming face to face to her, staring deeply into her eyes. Kol slowly grinned. Veins finally formed around his eyes, the pupils turning a slight crimson. He could feel hunger. His teeth extended from his gum, creating that further sense of desire for blood.

The woman attempted to pull her arm way from his grasp, frightened at his sudden appearance, but he was too strong.

"What are you?" the young woman asked, relaxing a bit more since she realised she wasn't going anywhere.

"Odd question…" Kol started, pulling her roughly against his chest. "Instead of asking _who_ I am, you ask _what_ I am. You are much smarter than you look." His features faded away as he tried to block out the intense burning sensation in the pit of his stomach. "You most certainly know what I am. Most people in this town should."

She shook her head, denying his statement. Kol could feel the fear beating inside of her body, but she kept a brave façade, something that Kol admired about this woman.

Kol brushed his fingers gently along her cheek. "You are quite stunning. A woman of your beauty shouldn't be all alone outside at this time of night." Kol was no longer smirking; instead he just looked at her with eagerness.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, her unsteady voice betraying her confidence. She shook her head, making his hand drop from her face.

"What do I want from you? The only thing a human is worth for, of course." Sharp teeth emerged from his gums, allowing his thirst for blood to control him. This was the thing he lived for.

He lowered his head down to her neck, slowly running his mouth over it. Kol quickly grabbed the back of her neck, grasping her firmly against his chest. He opened his mouth and bit down onto her skin, sinking his fangs deep within her neck. The young woman tried to scream, but all that was replaced with was short raspy breaths, unable to properly produce a sound.

The blood poured into Kol's mouth, filling him with immense pleasure. He felt the vein almost pop inside her skin, but not before he was quickly torn away from the wilting form. Kol growled at being suddenly interrupted. The woman he had been preying on fell towards the ground, unconscious.

"What do you think you doing?" Caroline pushed Kol back away from his prey, revealing his blood-soaked mouth. It dripped down his chin as he licked his lips accordingly.

Caroline swiftly bit down on her wrist, feeding Kol's victim her blood to save her life. The wounds around her neck started to heal rapidly.

"You're asking me what _I'm_ doing! What are _you_ doing?" Kol rubbed his mouth with his coat sleeve, cleaning off most of the excess blood. He couldn't believe Caroline had just stopped him. For the first time in a century he was able to finally find a decent meal to feed on, and she just had to intrude on his pleasant evening.

"Saving this poor girl from you. Next time find somewhere _not_ so public!" Caroline shouted with anger.

Kol had a very irritated look planted on his face, but it soon disappeared to reveal cheeky expression. "Is that right? So I'd just have to find somewhere more private to feed on them there instead? Well that shouldn't be too difficult."

"You're an ass."

**A/N: **I know this chapter is short, but I've been so busy this week with. I got exams coming up in about two weeks, and I'm freaking out! :O But hopefully you enjoyed. Klaus and Kol are going to get down and dirty in the next few chapters. You just wait :P And thankyou so much for the lovely reviews, you have no idea how happy they make me.

**Here is the poll results: **

Kol - 60 percent

Elijah - 20 percent

Rebekah - 20 percent

Klaus - 0 percent

Alaric - 0 percent

Caroline - 0 percent

Kol is certainly popular. I know this chapter was supposed to be based around Kol, but some parts just didn't work out as planned. I might make another chapter on him in the future.

The next poll:

**What place setting do you want the next chapter to be?**

It will be up in my profile hopefully.

Don't forget to review and vote! :D


	4. Chapter 4 Insults are getting Old

**A/N: **Been a bit drained lately because of exams, so don't get worried if I don't update straight away. But anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Insults are getting Old**

Everyone stopped what they were doing suddenly. Eyes were quickly drawn to the young man that walked down the hallway of Mystic Fall's high school. Some girls gasped at the mere sight of him. The heads that turned and long stares that followed, made him smirk with satisfaction, something he was very used to. By being new at the school, he attracted a lot of attention from other students. He was, as they say…an outsider.

Progressing down the hallway into the main office, the lady behind the desk looked up at his tall form, giving him a blank expression.

He quickly made himself comfortable, without properly acknowledging her presence, sitting down on one of the seats that were placed in front of the receptionist's desk.

"Excuse me?" She objected as he placed both of his feet upon her desk, crossing them over while lazily leaning back against the chair. "Who are you?"

"Oh…how rude of me," he responded, quickly sitting up from the chair to face her properly, "I'm Kol."

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Rebekah gently applied a thin coat of blush on her cheeks using a small mirror attached to the door of her locker. She carefully dragged the soft brush down the curve of her cheek, making sure not to overload on it excessively. _Perfect_, she thought, as she applied the finishing touches. Grabbing a pile of books, Rebekah took one last look at her reflection before shutting the door of her locker.

She enjoyed being eternally young, it was one of the highlights of being a vampire. It meant she could stay beautiful for an eternity, something she could definitely live with for another one-thousand years.

"Wow…" she heard a guy say, as she walked further away from her locker. Rebekah turned around and smiled, but noticed they weren't looking towards her. She immediately frowned in response. Who could possibly be more attractive than her? From the slight movements of each person, she noticed someone else had caught their attention.

Walking down the hall, Rebekah noticed someone familiar walk out of the headmaster's office. When she realised who it was, she stormed over angrily, fuming over the fact he had taken over her spotlight.

"Kol?" she shouted from across the hallway, grabbing the attention of basically the entire school. Kol turned around to see his baby sister, all perked up and pretty for a day at school. "What are you doing here, Kol?" she asked, demanding a detailed response.

He considered Rebekah's question carefully, thinking exactly why he was here. One reason was Caroline, and winning the wager he made between him and Klaus, but what else was there to do at school? A slow grin spread across the originals face as all the possibilities arose in his mind.

"To spend time with my little baby sister of course," he lied, playfully bumping his shoulder into hers. Rebekah's eyes narrowed at him, an almost cold look on her face.

"You're drawing way too much attention to yourself," Rebekah growled, although Kol didn't seemed so intimidated about that little detail. If fact, he praised the attention he received, how could he not?

"Oh don't be so jealous Bekah. It's just a bit of harmless fun," Kol admitted.

"Harmless fun? You pretty much changed that guy's sexuality over there. I wouldn't call that harmless fun." Kol's eyebrows rose at Rebekah's remark, clearly intrigued by it. Rebekah, however, was hoping the opposite.

"Glad to hear I have that effect on people," he replied smugly. Rebekah glared at Kol, not entirely impressed at her brother. Her gaze faltered when the school bell rang.

All students started to quickly make their way into each of their required classrooms. Kol simply smiled at Rebekah, the distinct lack of self-control written on his face. Rebekah could never easily trust her brother, especially in this circumstance. He never found school all that appealing, so why was he here?

"Don't you have to get to class?" he asked. Rebekah tightened the hold on her books, raising her nose up in the air, showing a more confident side to her.

"Yes, and if you do anything…ANYTHING…to mess this up for me, I'll reach down your throat and pull out your insides, get it?" Kol lifted his hands up in surrender, but still keeping his arrogant smile planted on his face.

"Got it?" he responded.

"Good." Rebekah walked away from her brother to get to class, keeping a confident expression on her face. But in truth she was worried, Kol's incessant games never ended well for anyone. What was her brother up to? She was very curious to find out. Maybe Klaus might have something to do with it. They both have been at opposite ends lately.

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Klaus growled quietly as he fazed into the car, seating himself roughly into the soft leather cushion. His hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel, as his eyes narrowed to stare daggers outside the windscreen. He would never have expected his brother to be so involved in the wager.

He had assumed it was another one of Kol's senseless tricks just to get Klaus rivalled up. But he was actually taking the bet seriously, and that infuriated Klaus. Although, he'd hate to admit, Klaus had been amused by the turn of events.

He had received a text message from his younger sister informing him of Kol's sudden enrolment into school. It just so happens to be the school Caroline attends. Rebekah being her usual self notified Klaus of Kol's suspicious behaviour, saying he needed to control his youngest brother or she might do something she'd regret. The older vampire gladly volunteered himself for the job, if it would mean keeping Kol as far away from Caroline as possible, he was adamant as well in winning the wager, just as much as Kol was.

It takes two to play a game, and now it was Klaus's turn to make his next move. He smiled to himself, quickly turning on the ignition of the car, driving out of the driveway heading towards Mystic Falls high school.

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She couldn't believe it. Standing here, looking up at him with her strong stance and proud posture, she couldn't believe how much bad luck had paned out over the past couple of days. Bumping into Klaus yesterday for one, and now she stared right into the arrogant face of Kol.

He towered over her, looking down on Caroline as if he was more superior then her. She had been very late to class since her alarm clock forgot to wake her up this morning, and it had been so easy to sleep in since the lack of sleep she had been having recently.

Caroline had been in such a rush when she got to school walking to class, that she forgot to watch where she was going and bumped into none other than Kol himself.

But Caroline couldn't help feel a sense of excitement when she saw his cheeky grin staring right back at her.

"You really should watch where you're walking," Kol suggested, still standing rather closely in front of Caroline. She pushed on Kol's chest, shoving him out of the way.

"Not now Kol, I'm late for class." He sped in front of her as she walked off, causing Caroline to bump into him again. "Stop…doing that!" she shouted, getting another wave of shock.

"You've got…Biology now, am I right?" he asked, looking at his own class timetable for the day. He specifically advised the lovely receptionist lady to be in all of Caroline's classes. She had been easily seduced by Kol's compulsion, and was rather cooperative in adhering to his request.

Caroline merely gave him a blank stare. "How did you know-?" she asked, but was quickly cut off by Kol.

"-don't you know?" Caroline still looked at Kol confused, not knowing what the hell he was on about. "I go here now. I am officially a student of Mystic Falls high school as of today."

"Oh no…no, no, no…you can't," Caroline protested, quickly walking in the other direction as far away from Kol as possible. Although, he still followed after her, making Caroline walk that little bit faster.

"On the contrary, I can," he spoke, pointing out the obvious. "Although being one-thousand years pass my expiry date, I still look young enough to qualify for a full time student."

"But why go to school, of all the places…why here?"

"I have my reasons," Kol replied cheekily. Caroline stopped suddenly, wondering why Kol was so interested in her. Kol just watched her, anticipation running through his veins.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she demanded, suddenly facing Kol, staring straight into his eyes. "Or has it really been that long since you've gotten any that you have to go after another girl in a perfectly happy – if not distant – relationship?" Caroline ranted, her firm gaze never faltering. She despised being pushed around by the originals like a little play toy. "But then again…" she continued, "why would anyone with half a brain would want to go near your…manhood?"

Kol looked surprised at her sudden snarky response, "Trust me, that…region is well taken care of." Kol was well aware of his unsavoury reputation and was proud of it. After all, he did spend almost one-thousand years scheming, manipulating and seducing. Men and women alike both feared and were in awe of him. He got a lot of attention.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Caroline responded harshly. She really wasn't sure what to expect after that. Maybe another snarky comment, a demand, maybe even an insult, _anything _other than what he did.

He smirked and said, "You're cute when you're all rivalled up." Her eyes blinked rapidly and she meant to take a step back or slap him, or scoff, or make some kind of remark, but she just…stood there. "It's very alluring," he whispered, loud enough for her to hear.

"I…i…have to get to class…" Caroline swiftly walked away from Kol, mentally slapping herself. Heading towards the science rooms, he followed after her, also going to the same class. Caroline silently cursed to herself, blaming Kol for making her being so late to class.

As she walked through the door she and Kol grabbed everyone's attention. She awkwardly sat down at an empty bench, Kol sitting down next to her. He couldn't help the huge smile that crept upon his face.

Relief swept over her as she realised the teacher hadn't showed up yet. Maybe she wouldn't get penalized for being so late after all. It was partly Kol's fault.

"Do all teachers at this school arrive so incredibly late?" Kol whispered, leaning slightly towards Caroline. She shifted her position, wanting nothing more than to go hang herself.

"Good morning students…I apologise for being so late." Caroline's eyes widened as a rather familiar person walked into the room, addressing the class. Kol immediately stood from his seat, slightly fuming from the person standing at the front of the classroom.

"But your teacher had a rather…unfortunate accident whilst on his way to school today. I'll be filling in as your teacher." Kol narrowed his eyes towards him, how could he?

He simply smiled towards Kol's reaction. "You can call me Klaus."

**A/N: **...and the plot thickens :P I apologise if there are any mistakes. I wrote this at 6:00 this morning, not a good idea. But here we have it. More Kol and Caroline time as requested by some of my lovely reviewers. If you guys have any preferences, please feel free to review and tell me your suggestions :D

**Here are last week's poll results: **

School - 42 percent

The Mikaelson Ball - 28 percent

Caroline's House - 14 percent

Salvatore Boarding House - 14 percent

Mikaelson Establishment - 0 percent

The Grill - 0 percent

And there you have it!

The next poll:

**What plot with what character to use in the next chapter?**

It's up in my profile now (should be)


	5. Chapter 5 Caroline on a Mission

**Caroline on a Mission**

Caroline tried not to stiffen as Klaus placed his right hand on her lower back, steadying her posture as she carefully adjusted the temperature upon the gas burner in the laboratory. He watched over the students, mostly paying attention to Caroline, acting like a typical teacher which they both knew he wasn't.

"Relax Caroline. You won't get much done if you're so tense," Klaus assured her, his hand moving slightly lower.

"I wouldn't be so tense if your hand wasn't on my back," Caroline protested angrily.

A small grin crept onto the hybrid's face, "Now, now…you can't talk harsh words with me. I am in fact your teacher, am I not?" He removed his hand away from the curve of her back, but kept his form close to hers. Caroline rolled her eyes, scoffing at his statement.

"Yeah…temporarily," she responded, "now please, just…" Klaus put his hands in the air, stepping backwards away from her. He calmly walked off, even though he was quite irritated with her constant resistance to his charm.

Meanwhile, Kol kept sneaking glances at them from the corner of his eye as he worked on the pointless experiment from a different bench. Klaus had taken it upon himself to move Kol as far away from Caroline as possible, which meant he couldn't fully interact with her. Just another thing Kol can get back at him for. It takes two to play this game, and right now, Kol refused to be on the losing side. Although, he was secretly enjoying the fact that Klaus was taking the wager seriously.

Klaus walked casually near Kol, his hands placed behind his back, a huge grin planted on his face. Kol stared at the arrogant hybrid, but kept a confident look on his face.

"Still glad you joined school?" Klaus asked. Kol looked down at the mess he'd made on the bench.

"Not particularly…" he responded, smiling at his brothers efforts to win the wager. He lowered himself to eye level of the beaker to properly measure the amount of water he poured in.

"Well that's too bad. I thought it would be quite a fascinating experience, what with all the attention you get," Klaus gestured around the room to all the wandering stares him and Kol received. They all quickly looked away when Kol noticed their gaze.

He stood up straight, sneering slightly from Klaus's snarky comment. "I'd hardly call it fascinating. I'm not as desperate for attention as you Nik…although I do enjoy it."

"Then why are you here exactly?" Klaus asked, knowing full well the answer to the question.

"I could ask you the same thing, but we both know why," Kol responded, slowly turning up the temperature on the burner as he was showed earlier by his peers. Most of them had been quite eager to assist.

"Ahhh, our _other _'_experiment_," Klaus pointed out quietly. Kol glanced towards Caroline who was observing their conversation. She quickly looked away, continuing what she was doing previously.

"Careful brother, we've got an eavesdropper prying into something she shouldn't be," Kol revealed, smirking at Caroline's nosy behaviour. She stiffened slightly from his realization, but quickly dismissed it as if she didn't know what they were talking about.

Klaus turned to face her, remembering their little wager was supposed to be a secret according to Kol. But who was he to care about something so insignificant. "Oops…seems my words have misplaced me, I'll learn to be more careful next time," Klaus uttered sarcastically.

"Please make sure you do." Klaus merely smiled in response, walking away from Kol to observe the other experiments. Caroline looked curiously towards them both, wondering what exactly their so-called 'experiment' involved. Maybe it was the reason they were both here, why else would it be?

Caroline just didn't understand their need to attend school. She had to find out for herself in case any of her friends a.k.a Elena, was included in their little arrangement. Caroline just hoped it didn't have anything to do with her. The last thing she wanted was to get involved with the original brothers.

She looked towards the two brothers again who acted perfectly normal through other people's eyes, but not hers. They both had a mysterious vibe Caroline couldn't pick up on, and she was going to make it her mission to find out.

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"I'm telling you, those two are up to something…I can feel it," Caroline revealed to Elena, leaning against one of the lockers as Elena placed her books inside her own.

"Are you sure it has something to do with me?" Elena asked. She wasn't the one being bothered by the two original brothers. She didn't even know they had joined their school until now, something else she got surprised by.

"Well what other explanation is there?" Caroline continued, watching as Elena pulled her bag out of her locker, throwing it over her shoulder. She closed her locker and started walking down the hallway, contemplating Caroline's statement as she followed.

"They might be here to spy on you…I mean Klaus needs your blood, maybe his keeping a close eye on you."

"I highly doubt that," Elena admitted, "If he wanted to keep a close eye on me, he would've sent one of his hybrids to do that."

"You never know…" Caroline defended, making Elena smile slightly.

"Look, maybe we can discuss this over dinner at my place," Elena suggested, stopping to face Caroline.

"I can't…I have to stay here and cook some food for tomorrow night." Caroline hated to hear herself say that. She wasn't really dedicated to school, and staying at school after hours wasn't really her thing.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Elena asked.

Caroline looked at her in surprise. "Don't tell me you forgot." Elena frowned in confusion, having no idea what Caroline was talking about. She sighed at her pointing up to the banner hanging from the school's ceiling that read, 'Paradise Falls Luau.'

"Oh right…" Elena realised.

"You'd better be there," Caroline spoke as Elena walked off outside.

"Don't worry, I'll try." As Elena exited the building, Caroline shook her head smiling after her.

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Caroline stared at the volume on the measuring cup, as she poured the exact amount of water. She held the cup firmly under the tap as the liquid poured through. After collecting an adequate amount, Caroline tipped the water into the mixing bowl, combining it with the cake mix. She grabbed the wooden spoon and started to mix the ingredients together.

After the science experiment she had to endure earlier, she was glad to finally get away from all the commotion. Caroline had to bake several batches of muffins and cookies by tomorrow night in time for her social event she'd been planning for school. Caroline wondered why she sacrificed so much of her time for school, she would've gotten someone else to do these for her, but everything had to be done her way.

Klaus stood in the doorway without Caroline's knowledge, watching her rush around the room. Her apron was covered in flour, with bits of food stuck in her hair. He chuckled at the sight of her.

"I had no idea you cooked," Klaus observed, grabbing the attention of Caroline. She merely ignored his presence and continued her activity without any response to his statement.

Klaus couldn't blame her. He did have a tendency to irritate people when he felt the need. But he didn't want the fun to end just yet. Although he didn't have any classes to teach beside Caroline's biology class, Klaus didn't want to go home. He needed to stay near Caroline as much as possible, in case Kol got his chance to win her over.

Klaus moved from the doorway with his arms folded, casually strolling in her direction. He forced a cheery smile as he stared at her moving form.

"What do you want Klaus?" Caroline asked, carefully filling up the cup cake mould of the baking tray with the combined cake mix. "I don't really have much time. I've got to bake a whole batch full of muffins ready by tomorrow night."

"Oh c'mon Caroline, let me help you," he suggested calmly. Caroline scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You? Cook?" she chuckled slightly at the thought of Klaus in an apron.

"Why not?" He grabbed her hand, trying to snatch the spoon away from her. But she reacted unexpectedly, flicking the utensil harshly away from his grasp, accidently throwing dough onto his cleanly ironed shirt.

Caroline's mouth gaped open, gasping at the sight of Klaus. He stood there, looking down at his shirt. Caroline chuckled slightly, "I'm sorry."

"You're going to have to pay for this shirt," Klaus spoke angrily, not particularly enjoying being laughed at.

"Make me," she responded stubbornly.

"Actually…I have something better in mind." Without hesitation, Klaus grabbed a handful of flour flinging the substance straight into her unexpected face, which was quickly silenced. She stood still, gasping in surprise as flour dropped onto her clothes as she opened her mouth.

Klaus himself was laughing at her current state, but this was only a means of a distraction. Caroline lifted a container off of the bench and swiftly whipped its contents of cream straight into his face, but he wasn't caught off-guard this time. He merely folded his arms, the cream slowly sliding down his face onto the floor.

"That was…uncalled for," he spoke, wiping a bit of cream from his eye.

Caroline let an alleviated chuckle escape her throat as she reached for the hand towel to wipe her face, assuming she was off the hook. Klaus didn't say a word. Instead, he grabbed a spoon and lifted an overflowing load of icing out of the mixing bowl, then without warning, chucked the entire mass at Caroline's half-conscious head.

She stepped back a bit in surprise, gasping in shock as the icing hit her nose. She wiped it off with her fingertips her eyes squeezing shut as she felt around for a napkin Klaus assumed. Caroline though, had something else in mind.

Picking up two eggs, she bashed them on top of his head, the liquid oozing onto his hair down his face. "That'll teach you," she responded laughing. Klaus wiped his face, but as he did so, Caroline threw a handful of flour towards him, completely covering his face and neck sticking to the liquid substance of the egg.

"That's it," Klaus grabbed Caroline by the waist, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she was lifted up, kicking her legs as he did so.

"Hey! Put me down!" she protested, as she felt the sticky substance from the flour and egg on him.

He walked her out of the room, a wide smirk on his face as she continued to hit and kick him. "This isn't funny Klaus, I'm being serious," she warned, but he could tell she wasn't being all that serious.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," a voice suddenly broke Klaus's amusement, causing him to turn around and look into the face of his brother.

"Kol."

**A/N: **Yeah, I didn't really plan Kol doing an experiment and Klaus getting into a food fight. Bit ridiculous this chapter is, but there you have it. And I know I updated late, but the end of term is nearing, and I'm sure some of you know what that's like. Also, when I refer to gas burner, I mean Bunsen burner. It a science tool you use to heat up a substance. In case those who don't do science didn't know.

**Here are the results from the previous poll:**

Food Fight (Caroline) - 33 percent

Power Outage (Kol) - 33 percent

Accident in the Lab (Klaus) - 22 percent

Noticing Strange Behaviours (Elijah) - 11 percent

Getting Suspicious (Elena) - 0 percent

Another Vampire in Town (Katherine) - 0 percent

And since two of them were a draw, I'll base the other one on the next chapter or so. Review please! I love it when you guys review :D

The next poll:

**Choose a scenario**

Go to my profile to vote!


	6. Chapter 6 The Best Man Wins

**A/N: **Weow! Mid-year exams are officially over, party time! Just had a 14 hour sleep to make up for lost time, and now I'm back in the game. Hope you enjoy! :D

**The Best Man Wins**

Klaus hesitantly put Caroline back down onto the ground, staring darts into his brother. He constantly had to spoil his fun. It was so normal of Kol to appear when he least expected it, as if he had been waiting for the right moment to make his presence known.

"Wow, I'm surprised at you Klaus," Kol started, circling around the both of them. "I didn't think of you as the playful type." Kol walked calmly around them, hands clasped behind his back.

"And what makes you think that?" Klaus responded. Kol merely stared back at him, chuckling softly in response.

"Oh I dunno. It seems to me that you've had a sudden change in personality these past few days," Kol responded, smiling towards Klaus whose lips pursed together in anger. He was so close to ripping Kol's head off, he didn't know what was stopping him.

Kol shot a quick glance to Caroline who seemed to be at a loss of words. The corners of his mouth turned up ever-so-slightly to show his amusement as he looked back at Klaus who was positively fuming.

Caroline glanced back and forth between the both of them, not particularly enjoying the tension rising between the two brothers. Something was odd about their behaviour. "That's it," Caroline snapped, throwing her hands up in frustration, "whatever is going on between the both of you, I want no part of it!" To Caroline's surprise, both originals looked startled by her sudden change in mood.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "I don't know what's going on, but it better not involve hurting someone," Caroline warned.

"What makes you think that I'd want to hurt someone?" Kol asked innocently. Caroline rolled her eyes, sighing in frustration.

"Oh I am so outta here…I cannot deal with you two," Caroline spoke, not even caring about the baking she had started earlier. She'd do everything in the morning. Right now all Caroline was worried about was getting home. But just as she was walking away, Kol stepped in front of her, causing her to bump into his chest

"But we're just getting started," he replied, smirking down onto her small form. Caroline couldn't help but pause and stare a little at Kol's features. Why were all their family so damned attractive?

"Just, both of you stop doing that," she demanded, pushing Kol out of the way. He stumbled backwards slightly from Caroline's quick movements, as she stormed off angry at the both of them. Klaus looked towards Kol who merely shrugged his shoulders.

They watched Caroline walk out of the building, leaving the two brothers alone in the hallway. Of course, Kol seemed to revel in these sorts of moments while times like these only infuriated Klaus. He should have never agreed to the wager in the first place.

"I'm surprised at you Klaus," Kol started, "I never knew you'd actually take the wager seriously." A lie. Kol knew exactly how Klaus would react to a wager; especially when involving a woman and that was the fun part Kol was hoping for. He always had to compete against Klaus for everything, but for women, is a different story. With Kol's natural charm and good looks, he'd have any girl under his skin in a matter of minutes. This however, proved to be much more difficult. Caroline was a stubborn woman, an attribute both brothers seemed to be attracted to.

"As they say Kol," Klaus started, "game on." Kol raised his eyebrows, as his smirk still remained on his face. He watched as Klaus walked off down the hallway, exiting the building.

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"I look ridiculous," Kol stated observing his half-naked form in the mirror. By matching the dress code of the absurd theme Caroline had been organising at school, Kol researched exactly what 'luau' meant, and came up with this. A short skirt made of straw that barely covered his manly regions, and a band made of flowers placed around his neck.

"I think you look smashing," Rebekah observed, lying on his bed while playing with a strand of her hair. Kol walked angrily across his bedroom floor to his wardrobe, searching for anything more original-worthy for him to wear.

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders, "it's nothing I haven't seen before." Kol stopped looking towards her in amazement.

"And what exactly have you _seen_," he asked smirking, with a small hint of curiosity.

"Oh, that's only for me to know…" Rebekah stated, picking up a small book lying on his bedside table. Kol smiled at her comment. He continued to rummage through searching for his attire for the evening's activities, but nothing appeared to peak his interest.

Rebekah carelessly flicked through the book she was holding, observing only the key words in its content. Her face curved into a grin when she realised what exactly she was reading.

"Since when does Kol keep a diary?" she asked, waving the book up in the air. Kol stopped completely still, silence emanating around the room. He closed the wardrobe door slowly, his back still facing Rebekah. "C'mon I'm waiting." He turned around to face her holding the one thing he hoped no one would ever find.

"That's not mine," he blurted out. Rebekah though, could typically see through his façade. No one, not even any of her siblings could lie to her. She'd always see right through them.

"Then why does it say 'KOL'S' on the front," she replied smartly.

He sped across the room snatching the book suddenly from her hands. "It's an experiment…for school." She didn't react that much from his sudden movements; she simply crossed one leg over the other, looking up at her brother.

"Sounds interesting," Rebekah pointed out. "I assume it involves Klaus as well." Kol nodded, he didn't feel it necessary to lie about that. After all, he knew from personal experience that lying to Rebekah never ended well for all of them. At least now it involved Klaus as well. So he wouldn't be the only one to blame, this time round.

"Well, I'm going to go scavenge through Klaus's attire…" Kol spoke usually fast, quickly changing the subject.

"Wait!" Rebekah shouted, halting Kol's movements as he stepped through the door. "You never told me what this experiment is about."

"It's a secret," he teased, bolting out the room. Rebekah sighed disappointed, lying back down on the bed.

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Caroline drew a deep nervous breath. This was the night. She stood in front of the stage, watching the ever growing crowd poor into the gym. The noise started to echo quite loudly inside as people stood still chatting amongst one another. It would take a while for everything to warm up, as it always did.

Considering the theme was quite challenging, everyone seemed to match it accordingly; from the hula skirts down to the coconut bras. Caroline herself wore a red and white flowered dress, reaching just above the knees, her hair pinned back with a bright red flower that stood out against her blonde hair. She wore silver thongs on her feet that matched nicely with the dress; her costume perfectly matched the theme, but it wasn't overdone like most were.

The clanking of a person's heel sounded on the hardwood floor. Caroline noticed Amber, a girl on her cheerleading squad, strut towards her in 10-inch heels, with her short sequined dress shimmering as she moved. Caroline gave her the once over, immediately regretting wearing thongs as she noticed how slim Amber's legs looked wearing those heels.

"Didn't really follow the dress code Amber," Caroline stated, jealousy running through her. She motioned towards the Hawaiian banner that hung down from the ceiling.

"I thought I'd be a bit different," Amber responded, flicking her straight blonde hair out of her face. Caroline rolled her eyes discretely, sighing with impatience; she hoped she wouldn't have to put up with her the whole night. "So where's your new boy toy? I heard he was coming tonight."

Caroline looked at Amber confused, furrowing her eyebrows. Surely she didn't mean…no, it couldn't be. "Who are you talking about?"

"C'mon, you know exactly who I'm talking about," Amber responded, smirking towards Caroline.

"He is _not _my boy toy," Caroline assured, shaking her head. What gave her the impression that she had anything to do with Kol?

"Well he seems awfully interested in you," Amber replied, observing the crowd. "Mmmmm, speak of the devil." Amber motioned towards the entrance, revealing Kol's presence to Caroline. He immediately noticed her. Caroline quickly avoided his eye contact as he gave her one of his heat-melting grins. Her heart jumped when she noticed his rather snug black singlet, with red and black flowered shorts. She would never have imagined an original wearing such a thing.

"If you don't approach him, I will," Amber challenged, as Kol continued to stare at Caroline.

Caroline glanced at Amber, butterflies in her stomach swarmed instantly. She sidestepped past Amber, "Go ahead, I don't really care." Caroline walked off away from her, heading towards the bathroom.

She entered the ladies restroom and quickly gripped the side of the porcelain sink, averting her eyes from her reflection in the mirror.

"I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous," Caroline softly chanted to herself. She didn't understand why Kol was being like he was. How could he be interested in her? Well, after Amber's done with him, he wouldn't need a reason to come after her. Maybe Amber's charisma can help keep Kol distracted the rest of the night. Caroline hoped so.

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Amber looked at herself in her pocket mirror she grabbed from her clutch bag, reapplying her red lipstick onto her lips. She shut it closed, satisfied with her appearance before approaching Kol who was downing his glass of punch surprisingly fast, as if he were in a hurry to get somewhere.

"You look lonely," Amber started, giving him her best pose. She had to look flawless for the hottest guy in school; it could really help her rep to be seen with him. "Maybe I could fix that." Kol turned to face Amber, giving her the once over. He looked down to her revealing dress, impressed by how much skin was showing.

"That's depends, what do you have to offer?" Kol asked, smirking towards her. It proved to be somewhat difficult controlling his urges for blood; he could literally hear the blood boil inside her. It was rather tempting, but he didn't want this night to end in bloodshed. He already had a plan laid out for Caroline, and strangely enough, it didn't involve killing people.

"Maybe a dance," Amber dared asked.

"Mmmm…Sorry darling, I gave up on dances a long time ago," Kol responded, resulting in a deadly stare from Amber.

"Your...your refusing to dance with me?" Amber asked, surprised at the fact that she was rejected. Kol looked thoughtful for a second, making the impatient cheerleader wait for an answer.

"Well, if you put it that way… yes," Kol responded, rather straightforward. Amber looked shocked, this has never happened to her before. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?

"Now if you would excuse me, I need to look for someone," Kol revealed looking over the crowd. He walked off away from the shocked cheerleader; there was only one girl he had his eye on tonight, and she didn't appear to be in the gym. But he knew she was still in the building. Her scent was rather strong, and Kol could easily follow it with no hesitation.

He traced it out into the hallway. It was much more quite when he entered the dark hallway, aside from the loud bass of the music. Nobody seemed to be present in the hallway, making Kol's situation a lot easier.

Kol looked left and right, and realised her scent carried all the way to the ladies restroom. He smirked when he could tell she was alone.

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Caroline lifted her head from the sink, looking at her reflection. It was dark aside from a couple of lights that were still working. One kept flickering on and off. These toilets were always in a bad state, and not much was every done to fix it. Caroline didn't mind though, she just needed some time to think.

She glanced at her pale form in the mirror. Caroline never got depressed about the way she looked, but tonight was different. She felt a bit self-conscious about her appearance. Maybe it was the attention she was receiving from Kol. She wasn't used to being looked at so much.

Looking at her phone, the time read 8:43 p.m.

The dance wasn't even nearly half over. A gust of wind suddenly blew against the building, causing Caroline to turn towards the small window placed near the top of the wall. The wind made a soft whistling sound through the small creak of the glass. Goosebumps formed onto Caroline's neck, quickly spreading all over her body.

Why was she so nervous? She was in fact a vampire, she could protect herself. Couldn't she? Caroline collected herself by taking in a deep breath. It was just the wind; nothing too scary to frighten a vampire like herself.

She turned around heading towards the door, but was quickly blocked by a tall figure.

"Boo!" Caroline's heart raced for a second, getting a small fright, but then the adrenaline quickly died down when she realised who it was.

"Kol," Caroline sighed, breathing out a breath of relief. "This is the girl's bathroom. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you actually," he responded, still standing rather close to her. "Nasty weather out there it seems," Kol observed, motioning towards the shaking window.

"Yeah, let's hope it will die down," Caroline agreed, "And next time, don't sneak up on me like that…I could do something I would regret."

"Oh, I'd love to see that," Kol teased.

"Please, just leave me alone," Caroline insisted, walking past Kol out the door. Kol growled slightly, feeling severely disappointed. He didn't realise it would be this hard to get a simple kiss; it wasn't supposed to be hard, that's why Kol initiated the wager in the first place. To prove to Klaus that he was the better man.

Kol looked at his own reflection. He still wondered why Caroline didn't like him. Maybe the fact that she was hard to get was the attribute that attracted Kol. He seemed to be quite interested in Caroline.

The door suddenly flew open revealing a group of giggling girls, but as soon as they saw Kol they stopped, a bit shocked by his presence.

"Um…this is the girl's bathroom," one revealed.

"Yes…I noticed that," Kol grumbled rolling his eyes, already hearing the same statement twice today. "Now, if you would excuse me ladies." Kol weaved in between the girls to head out. In any other situation he would have devoured them all, but not tonight…no, not tonight.

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Caroline was almost at the exit. She needed to get out of this place before anyone else would push her to the edge like Kol almost did. But before she was just about to walk out the door, someone grabbed her by the hand, spinning her around and pulling her back.

"And where do you think your going?" Klaus questioned, pulling her into him. He started to sway with her to the slow music, arm firmly around the waist, while the other was grasped tightly around her hand.

She gasped at the sudden contact, her heart fluttering as he lowered her hand further down her waist. _This isn't happening, _she thought. "Please let go Klaus."

"Why, so you can just run away from me again? I don't think so love," he taunted. Caroline wanted to hit him, or at least push him away. But something kept her there. He was looking into her eyes as if she were the only person alive, no guy has ever actually treated her like that before.

He kept dancing with her, swaying to the music, not caring about all the strange looks they were receiving. The music quickened its pace, changing into a more upbeat song.

"Oh no," Caroline cursed, as their movements started to speed up. Klaus's smile only widened as he twirled her out of his arms but then reversed her back into his embrace and dipped her under his protective arm. Caroline squealed at the sudden movements, laughing hysterically. She stopped still and looked up at him.

"What's going on here?" A voice broke their sudden staring contest. The hybrid brought her back to level, both looking towards Elena who had caught them bonding.

"Uh…um," Caroline stuttered, at a loss for words. Seriously, what was she supposed to say?

"I was just accompanying the lovely Caroline," Klaus filled in.

"Right…what are you doing here again?" Elena asked, a bit freaked out by Klaus's sudden change in personality. "I mean, accompanying Caroline can't be the only reason."

"Well, sure it is," Kol cut in, walking up to the small group. "She is quite the trophy." Normally Caroline would've been offended by that comment, but somehow she enjoyed the attention she was receiving from both brothers.

"C'mon Caroline, we should go," Elena suggested, looking cautiously between the two brothers. Caroline looked blankly at Elena not saying anything. She looked captivated for a second, as if unable to move at all. "Caroline?"

She suddenly shook her head, escaping from the trance she was experiencing. "Right…yes, of course," Caroline finally responded.

Elena grabbed her hand, escorting her away from both Kol and Klaus. They both watched as they walked off, Elena giving them one final suspicious look.

"Blast," Klaus cursed.

"Yes, that doppelganger is really quite pestilent," Kol responded, narrowing his eyes at Elena as both girls walked out of the gym. "No matter, this night hasn't even nearly begun. I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve." Klaus pursed his lips together in frustration; competing against his brother yet again was not a small feat.

"May the best man win," Kol finished, giving Klaus a last smug grin before making an exit.

**A/N: **My longest chapter yet to make up for the late update. The plot is gonna thicken even more next chapter or chapter after next.

**Here are results for this chapter's poll:**

Competition between Kol and Klaus for Caroline's Attention – 46 percent

Rebekah discovers Kol's journal he'd been keeping about the wager - 23 percent

Caroline asks Elijah about Kol's and Klaus's strange behaviour - 15 percent

Angst about growing Feelings - 7 percent

Humour while trying to beat Klaus - 7 percent

Drama with Klaus's anger and Kol's Stubbornness - 0 percent

Competition between the two cheeky brothers will hopefully get more serious. Writing this story in this layout is certainly difficult, but hopefully it's turned out alright so far. This chapter didn't go as planned, but I still hoped you guys enjoyed it. I will try not to jump around too much, but I wanted to move the story along faster. The stormy weather in the story might cause some problems as well :P

Should I include Damon or Stefan more or would they ruin the story? Anyway, tell me your thoughts in the reviews. Cheers guys.

Next poll is up now, go vote!

**Pick what character to base the next chapter around**


	7. Chapter 7 The Devil You know

**The Devil you Know**

At exactly 10:00 p.m, a gust of wind coming from the north blew by the Gym, rattling several windows. The wind blew right through the branches of a nearby tree that was as tall and almost as big as the school. The tree was old and had seen many breezes before, but this one was rather strong and it wasn't able to keep its form. Instead of holding its ground, the tree toppled over onto a power line next to it, right outside the school doors.

Sparks flew all around, the tree still dangling on the line right above the surface of the building. Kol was alerted straight away by the sudden flickering of the lights. His senses immediately sensed danger, and his first reaction was to find Caroline, not that he generally cared for her wellbeing. She could protect herself.

The lights flickered on and off, alerting some people to the dangerous weather occurring outside. Kol tried weaving through the anxious people, but instead just pushed them out of his way.

"Move!" he shouted, as someone wouldn't budge. He easily slid past them, and made it to the door leading out of the gym. The power was eventually disconnected, leaving everyone in darkness. A few people screamed from the sudden power outage, but Kol didn't care. He just wanted out of the gym.

Kol threw open the double doors. The corridor was quite chilly, even though he wasn't affected by it, he could feel it. Kol walked down the corridor. He heard a soft voice coming from the cafeteria further down the hallway. It was now completely silent since the power went out. The pounding of the music had stopped, and Kol couldn't hear any of the remnants of the gym. They must've evacuated.

The door into the cafeteria where he was headed was open. Kol peaked around the corner, and noticed Caroline and Elena sitting against the wall on the floor, near the vending machine.

He could clearly make out what they were saying. Something about Klaus? Although, it was obvious they weren't aware of the recent power outage. Caroline turned her head to the door all of a sudden alerted by his presence. He waltzed casually into the room, notifying both females to his existence.

"Kol…how long have you been listening?" Caroline asked, standing suddenly. Elena joined her, looking equally worried.

"No need to fret," he assured them both, "I already know you're trying to kill my brother." Kol walked around the individual tables, closer towards the two girls.

"What do you want with us?" Elena asked, fear present in her voice.

"Us? What makes you think I have any interest in you Elena?" She frowned at his comment, looking a bit confused. "Caroline is the one that's caught my attention." Caroline tensed slightly, looking over to Elena. She noticed Elena holding a stake firmly behind her back. Caroline drew in a nervous breath. This wasn't going to turn out well for either of them.

Maybe distracting Kol will put him off guard. "So what, am I just some toy to play with whenever you get bored?" Caroline asked suddenly, acting a bit too suspicious.

"Exactly." Kol walked closer towards them, smirking wildly. "Other individuals only exist to entertain me."

Caroline scoffed. "Is that what you think?" Kol walked up to Caroline, looking into her eyes.

"Yes," he spoke. Elena saw it as her opportunity. She firmly gasped the stake, stabbing the wooden weapon hard into his shoulder. It pierced his skin easily, the hard wood scraping against the bone.

Kol yelled out in pain, growling towards Elena who let go of the stake quickly, leaving its structure embedded into his shoulder. The weapon, however, didn't bring him down as they both predicted. Kol's appearance changed drastically, veins exposing rapidly under his eyes, startling Caroline and Elena.

"That was very stupid of you," he spoke angrily, pulling the stake roughly out of his shoulder. He winced in pain slightly, but it quickly subsided as his shoulder healed. "I was actually considering sparing your life Elena…but now I'm not so sure." Kol moved to step closer to Elena, but Caroline shifted in front of her.

"You'd better leave her alone," Caroline warned.

"Now now Caroline; if you don't get out of my way, I might do something I'll regret," Kol pushed Caroline out of the way, nearly throwing her across the room.

"Elena, run!" Caroline shouted, as she was tossed against the wall. Elena did as she was told, puffing heavily from the anxiety building inside her. Before Kol could pursue Elena, Caroline moved like lightning to push Kol to the ground. He rose easily from the ground, not being affected in the slightest.

Kol smiled at his opponent as Caroline grabbed him by the jacket, pushing him hard against the wall. Her face was only inches away as she looked at him angrily.

He definitely underestimated her strength, but he was still the stronger opponent, he merely just made it an easier task for her.

"Can't you and your family just _leave_ my friends alone?" Caroline shouted, strengthening her hold on the original. Kol grabbed her wrists, spinning her around fast against the wall, easily swapping their positions.

"I would, if you and your friends would stop _'killing' _my family," Kol responded calmly, holding her hands against the wall so she wouldn't break free. Caroline didn't say anything. She avoided eye contact, but proved to be difficult considering the close distance between them both.

"I'm a bit puzzled," Kol started, "Klaus is the only one of my family that has bothered you in the past, yet…you plan to destroy us all, why?" She was silent, unable to produce an answer. Kol was about to open his mouth when he heard something originating from outside. He let go of Caroline, listening intently.

"Kol I-" Caroline started but was quickly cut off by Kol as he put his finger to her lips, signalling for her to be quiet.

The building started to shake slightly, causing the chairs on the table to fall onto the ground. Caroline looked shocked as the wind started to violently rattle the windows. The weather was becoming much worse as the slight earthquake began to increase. Darkness still engulfed them, so Caroline could just make out Kol's form.

"What is it?" she asked him, although he didn't respond.

Outside, the wind shook the tree up and down onto the power line, causing several branches to snap off and fall straight onto the ground. Leaves were thrown everywhere as the rain poured down, creating large enough puddles to reach the knee.

The line was just strong enough to hold the tree up without crashing onto the school's structure, although, it didn't hold for long. The wind lifted up the tree one more time, before the power line snapped; bringing the tall thick tree, down hard onto the building.

The room started to cave in; brick's started to crumble down on top of them as Kol ran to cover Caroline just in time. She was in complete shocked as he ducked onto the ground, using his form to protect her as the brick's started to roughly bash on top of him. He flinched from the pain, but he was able to withstand the pressure easily enough.

The tree cut straight through the building, crushing the whole cafeteria. Panic went through Caroline as she felt the wet branches and leaves falling over them. The last thing she saw was the area being covered by debris, before going into darkness.

**A/N: **This is seriously a turn of events, was not expecting that. I tend to surprise myself sometimes. I cut the chapter a bit because I wanted more suspense…ahahah, cheeky me :P Anyway, I hope this was to your liking, tell me your thoughts in the reviews :D

**Here are results for last week's poll:**

Kol – 56 percent

Caroline - 25 percent

Klaus - 18 percent

Elena - 0 percent

Stefan - 0 percent

Bonnie - 0 percent

Next poll is up now, go vote!

**What genre to base the next few chapters around?**


	8. Chapter 8 Double Trouble

**Double Trouble**

"Caroline!" Elena called out, searching for her friend. Elena had heard something loud crash outside, but she wasn't sure what it was. She stood for a few moments, looking up and down the corridor. Silence ran through the darkened hallway, aside from the violent winds originating from outside. "Caroline?" she shouted again, but no such luck.

Elena started to run down the hallway but not before she stopped to find Klaus standing in front of her. "I believe we have a bit of a dilemma," he explained, grabbing Elena's arm and dragging her with him.

"Hey, let go of me!" she protested, attempting to pull her arm out of his grip. He stopped when she continued to struggle.

"If you care about your life…come with me," Klaus demanded, knowing she would go and do something stupid to put herself in danger. Elena didn't say anything and allowed for Klaus to lead the way. They reached the end of the hallway towards the doors to the gym.

Klaus shoved the door open to reveal a rather dark and empty gym. Lights flickered on and off, with various decorations spread out all over the floor that were ripped from the ceiling. Bits of plastic cups were shattered everywhere with glass shattered beneath the remains of the disco ball near the centre of the entire gym.

"Oh my god! What happened?" Elena stared in disbelief as she saw the chaos in what was left of the recent school's dance. Sparks flew everywhere from the fallen spotlights, igniting a few small fires all around.

"An earthquake happened…" answered Klaus, kicking bits of broken glass on the floor. "…and looks like everything has been abandoned rather quickly." He watched Elena who looked a bit tense observing the damage. They were completely alone in the darkness. Aside from a few flickering lights, their only light source was from the moon shining through the windows from outside.

"We have to find Caroline," Elena suggested immediately, walking to the direction of the exit. Klaus however pulled on her arm, preventing her from moving any further.

"That wouldn't be very wise," he warned.

"Why not? Caroline might be in danger…I have to help her," Elena explained, shifting towards the door again but only to be stopped by Klaus…again.

"It's not safe for you. Plus, Caroline can easily handle herself on her own," Klaus assured, smirking at Elena's worried expression. She narrowed her eyes at Klaus, as he loosened his hold on her.

"Kol was with her," Elena stated, causing Klaus to loose his grin on his face.

"What?" he asked irately, knowing exactly what she said.

"Kol was with-" Elena repeated, but was quickly cut off by Klaus.

"I heard you, but what was he doing there?" Klaus asked impatiently.

"He attacked me," Elena stated.

"That's not like Kol. You must've provoked him somehow," Klaus explained. Elena forced her arm out of Klaus' grip, rubbing the part of her arm he had been holding tightly since she mentioned Kol.

"I staked him…but it's not like it would've killed him. He is an original after all," Elena explained, Klaus raising one eyebrow at her statement. "I missed his heart anyway."

"You must have some sort of death wish."

"Well, wherever they are, we have to call the police," Elena suggested, wanting to take action before it was too late.

Klaus sighed, "If you must."

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Caroline started coughing up dust, gradually coming back to wakefulness. She was surprisingly warm and comfortable, if a little stiff. But there wasn't much room to complain considering how cold it was outside. Sensation slowly burned through her, almost like when a limb is coming out of a pins and needles state.

All of a sudden, Caroline could hear the whoosh of the distant rain echoing around her. She could here the single droplets pelt down onto several small puddles.

Odd. She could feel something warm and soft underneath her, rising and falling below her weight.

It was a nice feeling.

Considering the fact that the air was cold, and her wet clothes stuck strongly to her skin, she felt comfortable. It seemed almost strange, the contrast between ambient air, and her body.

She finally began to fully register her surroundings, but now they were starting to alert her attention. She had been in some very strange situations before, but she never expected to find Kol lying peacefully still underneath her.

Caroline lifted her head slowly from his chest, looking towards his calm and peaceful demeanour. Thankfully he wasn't awake yet, otherwise he would've found some snarky comment to describe their intimate positions. She could only imagine how awkward she'd be.

It's not like Kol is unattractive, he was even considered to be above average in her books. But, their whole situation seemed a bit too cliché in her opinion; waking up in the arms of some stranger. Well not stranger…

Maybe friend…

No, not that either…

…Classmate. Yes classmate.

Given their current situation Caroline didn't know what to do.

Kol groaned slightly, moving his head to the side, although not waking up. His hair was very messy, most of it branched at different angles, but the look suited him. She brushed a strand of hair to the side of his face so she could see his features more clearly.

His eyelids fluttered slightly, but he continued to breathe rather heavily, showing that he was in deep sleep.

Caroline realised her hand was still on top of his chest. She quickly removed her hand as he stirred slightly. He placed a hand on her hip suddenly causing her to freeze.

She couldn't help but feel a flutter in her heart whenever she touched him. The smell of his musky scent was a big turn on, and Caroline felt helplessly attracted to it. She frowned. Such impulses were unworthy of her. And this was hardly the time in any case. Caroline gripped his shoulder gently and shook him. "Hey," she said softly.

She had to wake up Kol so he could help her. Caroline was very weak, and she could hardly move let alone stand up. But she was afraid to even touch him; more so of herself than of him.

"Mmmm," he murmured, not waking up at all. Caroline couldn't help but smirk like a little kid. He looked so helpless in this position; it was so…un-'original' like. She shook her head. He was still sleeping blissfully away. She almost loath to wake him up…but, all awkwardness aside, she needed assistance.

She brushed away a few branches that were hanging down over the top of them. The tree must've made its way fully into the cafeteria…some tree that was. Surprisingly, Caroline wasn't that injured considering the tree had fallen straight onto them.

"Kol?" she called gently, shaking him one more time. "Wake up." His eyes started to flutter open, waking up to find Caroline lying on top of his chest. He could make out the silhouette of Caroline's face. It started to become clearer as he began to come back to existence.

"Mm-what?" he asked groggily. Kol brought his hand off Caroline's hip to his head, rubbing his eyes slightly.

"Finally!" Caroline spoke relieved, "I thought you'd never wake up." He pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking up at the young vampire on top of him.

He immediately smiled, realising how close Caroline was to him. Her legs were still twined together with his.

"I suppose I made a quite comfortable cushion to sleep on then," Kol pointed out, receiving an apologetic glance from Caroline as she looked away blushing. She moved away from him quickly, noticing there very close proximity. "No need to feel embarrassed, it's not like you didn't enjoy it."

"Just…shut it, ok?" Caroline suggested, getting a bit uncomfortable; hopefully he couldn't tell in the dim light, but she turned a few shades darker in embarrassment.

He observed their surroundings, not taking notice of Caroline's change in colour. Evidence of dust was still floating around from the broken layers of bricks. To the right he could see the dark expanse of water starting to form puddles from the rain pouring outside. It was fairly calm. The gentle sound of raindrops hammering onto the pool of water created a fairly placid atmosphere for the two vampires; although, Caroline couldn't help herself getting nervous around the original.

"Are you nervous?" he observed, as if reading her mind. "Is it me?" He stared at her with an enticing expression she couldn't resist to ignore.

"I-…I dunno. I guess it's-" Caroline trailed off, not entirely sure how to answer the question. She honestly didn't know the answer herself.

"-Klaus?" Kol asked, finishing her sentence.

Caroline didn't answer; she merely just avoided his gaze in order to prevent herself from answering his questions. Instead, Caroline just sat there, vigorously rubbing her arms and legs.

"You seriously can't be cold," Kol asked.

"I'm not cold," Caroline defended, "I'm just worried…that's all." He stared at her with a strange look on his face.

"Well," Kol started, lifting his body up. "It's no use sitting here all night, as much as I'd love to spend the evening with you Caroline. Just not here." He pushed aside some of the branches, dropping several bits of water and leaves. Caroline quickly jumped up before any of them could hit her, although immediately regretted it as she felt a little light-headed from doing so.

Kol started to stand up, but immediately flinched in pain as he moved his back.

"Ah, ow. Something…is-" he turned to look over his shoulder to find bits of wood embedded into his back, creating tiny red holes across his skin. Caroline was immediately by his side, looking over the damaged that had occurred.

"Uh…wow," Caroline grew speechless, noticing all the bloodied holes in Kol's back.

"How bad is it?" Kol asked, attempting to turn himself around but was pushed back by Caroline.

"Bad. But first, let's just get you out of here." Caroline went to lift Kol up, but he shooed her away, determined to do it himself.

"I've got a car," he suggested, pushing himself up off the ground. Several bits of bricks fell off of Kol as he stood, clearly in pain from the wood pierced through places on his back.

Caroline nodded at his suggestion, following closely behind him in case he fell over. It's not like she'd care if he'd fall over. It just wouldn't waste as much time. Kol climbed over the fallen bricks, careful not to fall himself. There were several broken bits laid in a huge pile that both vampires had to climb over.

They both look up at the damaged made by the tall tree. It created a gigantic opening for them to climb out of. Kol successfully made it outside, weaving it between the branches past the thick trunk. He helped Caroline down onto stable ground, grabbing her wrist so she wouldn't fall.

"Should we tell someone about this?" Caroline asked, looking up at the damage as Kol quickly headed for the car park.

"Nah. If their intelligent enough, they'll figure it out on their own," Kol responded, reaching for his keys. He went to open the driver side door, but Caroline stopped him.

"How bout I drive," Caroline suggested. Kol looked a bit hesitant but agreed knowing that he wasn't the best driver, and considering his state…he wouldn't be the safest driver.

He walked around the car to the passenger seat. Both entered the vehicle. Caroline placed the keys in the ignition, and started the car. As she moved off out of the school's car park, Kol leaned forward, attempting to pull out one of the pieces of wood embedded into his back.

"Ahh," he softly moaned. "Dang, these little suckers hurt. He successfully pulled one out and observed its structure. It was fairly long but thick. He wondered how it even got in there.

Once more reaching for his back, he grabbed at one of the spikes and pulled. Gritting his teeth and tightly shutting his eyes, he pulled hard. Dropping it, he touched the wound and felt it heal immediately.

"Just wait till we get to the house," Caroline suggested.

"It's really quite annoying. Why put up with it when I can just pull these incessant things out now?" Kol bickered, reaching for each individual piece, but Caroline however slapped his hand away.

"Because you're not doing it properly," Caroline argued. "Just sit forward, and hold still until we get there." Kol rolled his eyes in impatience.

000000000000000000

Blue and red flashed outside Mystic Falls High school. A police officer stood in front of Elena, jotting down various notes on his pad.

"And there was only one adult present you say?"

Elena nodded her head, looking towards Klaus who was busy pacing the ground impatiently. Something was bothering him, but Elena wasn't sure exactly what it was.

"Is that all? I've got to get home," Elena explained, "my family is probably worried." The officer nodded his approval, walking towards his other comrades.

She needed to get away from here. The power was still out, and she had no way of getting home besides catching a ride with Klaus. And that wasn't really the best decision. But she had to find Caroline. The school had been evacuated of all people, and they weren't able to find anyone anywhere. So, really…she had no choice but to go with Klaus.

"Do have any idea where Caroline might be?" Elena asked, "Or even Kol?" She was in a total panic because she feared that Kol had done something to her. He was more unpredictable than Klaus…well so she had heard.

"How should I know?" Klaus responded, not bothered by either of the two vampires.

"Don't you care about Caroline?" Elena asked. Klaus gave her a 'what do you think' look. He needed time to think. She was asking all these questions, and Klaus honestly had no clue what his brother was up to.

He always had an ulterior motive with everything he does. If he wasn't in the building, where would he'd be? He wouldn't go to the Grill, too many people would get in his way of him and Caroline.

He wouldn't take her back to her own house, otherwise he'd be stranded outside, and it's not like Caroline would invite him in. That's the last thing she'd do. So the only place he would take her, would be back to the mansion.

Great. Now Klaus had no choice but to find them before they did any damage to the house. Why must he always be the responsible older brother?

0000000000000000000

Kol winced slightly attempting to slide his shirt over his head, grimacing as seemingly millions of red hot points bit into his back. Caroline instantly was at his side, making sure he didn't bump any of those nasty splinters. He grabbed hold of her shoulder, using her for support, and managed to lift himself off the bed.

"Any other day I'd be delighted to have you in my room, but right now-" This time Kol gasped and tried to pull away as Caroline touched the area of the skin than hurt.

He twisted around and took a look at how bad the damage was. From just above the hip and extending upward was a long line of thin wooden splinters, a couple which were incredibly large for his liking. All though, most them were in his back, there were a few that stuck out from his buttock.

"Ouch! There must be about twenty, maybe thirty of those bad boys in there," she exclaimed with shared feeling. She gently took hold of one of the fragments and gave a small tug. Kol winced but made no sound. He pressed his lips together trying to diminish the pain.

Kol placed his hands on the back of the chair, leaning over so Caroline was able to gain more access to the splinters.

"Could you be any rougher?" he complained.

"I could always get Klaus to do it instead," Caroline responded, knowing he'd be a lot rougher than she would.

"I'll pass," Kol breathed, flinching as she yanked another one out. He softly moaned from the pain. She grabbed at one of the spines and tugged. For a long moment nothing happened, and then he felt a tearing as it finally let loose. Kol yelped. He went to turn around, but Caroline roughly pushed him back.

"Just hold still," she complained, "you'll only make it worse." Kol bent over the chair once more, rolling his eyes in the process. He didn't even have time to brace himself as he felt another one being torn out. He didn't yelp this time, but made a small low growl as his lips pressed together tight. Caroline rapidly moved from piece to piece, grabbing hold of them and swiftly pulling them out. Kol held himself as still as he could; he knew that what she was doing was essential and potentially useful for him. Talking it slow would have only prolonged the agony. He looked over his shoulder as he realized that Caroline had stopped.

"Ummm…I'll let you deal with the rest," Caroline said in a tentative voice, motioning towards the ill-placed splinters on his lower body regions.

"Don't be ridiculous, we're both adults," Kol spoke smirking, facing his butt towards her.

"Right, adults," Caroline spoke sceptically, "don't think many people would agree."

"I beg to differ," he responded, grabbing his shirt from the bed. Caroline shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "Well you're no fun." He grabbed a pair of towels, and walked towards the bathroom, pouting slightly towards Caroline. She chuckled when he left the room; he certainly liked to get his way.

She heard the shower turn on, and made herself comfortable on his bed, crossing her leg over the other. Caroline sighed bored, placing her hands on top of her stomach. She took the time to observe the room. It was very old fashioned; designed to match the rest of the décor of the house, being almost twice the size of her room. Even she didn't even need that much room.

Caroline noticed the draw to his bedside table was slightly open. She looked towards the bathroom and decided he wasn't coming out any time soon. She quickly opened the draw and noticed a few books. A few were piled up neatly in a stack. Caroline lifted them up, reading each of the titles.

_Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre. _Caroline nodded her approval at the selections, impressed by his taste in novels. There was another fairly thick book, it read _KOL'S _on the front in bold letters. Caroline tilted her head in confusion; placing the others books back where she found them. She flicked through the pages carelessly, and noticed its contents straight away.

It's a diary. Caroline's eyes widened in excitement. She wondered if she was mentioned in this.

The shower suddenly turned off. Her only reaction was to quickly shut the book and place it in her bag. Maybe he wouldn't notice that it was gone for the night. She'd return it in the morning anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

She shut the draw quickly as Kol stepped in the room wearing just a pair of boxes. "Woah, seriously…" Caroline reacted suddenly to his exposed torso, feeling a bit hot in the cheeks. "Can't you put a shirt on?"

Kol threw himself down onto the bed next to her, placing his arms neatly behind his head. "This is what I usually wear to bed…care to join me," he said with a cheeky grin planted on his face.

"Uh…if that is all, I'm leaving," Caroline responded harshly, standing up from the bed. She threw her bag over the shoulder, walking towards the door.

"Don't be such a buzz-kill," he complained, still remaining where he was. Caroline looked back at him from the doorway, smirking at his appearance.

"Good-bye Kol," she replied simply, exiting the room quickly. She held her bag close to her, a bit paranoid about its contents. She didn't want anyone finding out about her little discovery of Kol's journal.

**A/N: **So what do you think? :P Should Caroline read Kol's journal, or should she feel guilty about it and return it? Vote in the polls. I had fun with this chapter; Kol's such a cool character to write about. It was a long chapter as a reward for my lovely readers. Hope you guys review and tell me what you think! :D I love reviews!

Here are the results from last week:

Romance – 44 percent

Angst - 22 percent

Drama - 11 percent

Suspense - 11 percent

Hurt/Comfort - 11 percent

Action - 0 percent

Romance was a bit hard to do, but I tried. Next chapter will hopefully involve a better romance plot. Next poll is up now, go vote!

**What should Caroline choose to do with the Journal?**


	9. Chapter 9 Late Night Reading

**Late Night Reading**

When Caroline immediately stumbled through the door, she left a small trail of wet puddles as she ran upstairs to her room. The first thing she did when she burst through her bedroom door was throw her bag onto the bed and rummage through its contents. Kol's journal was in her possession. She could find out everything he had been hiding, even something that could explain his and Klaus's odd behaviour this past week.

She flicked the light that laid upon her desk, and placed the book flat down onto the table top. She quickly got changed into her pyjamas and placed a night gown around her. One had to be comfortable before reading the juicy details…of Kol no less.

Finally sitting down, she opened up at the first page.

Caroline hesitated slightly, knowing Kol won't be too happy if he found out about her taking his journal. But who could blame her. It was just lying around for anyone to find. Caroline took one last sigh before looking onto his first entry:

OOO

_Day One._

_I'm quite take aback at Klaus' agreement to this…_

_When did he become so incredibly gullible? Maybe all his years of running from our father made him weak. No matter. I made Klaus write a journal about our 'agreement,' so I'm obliged to do the same._

_I'll make this quick and relatively painless. _

_Today was rather simple. After my encounter with Caroline, I came up with the brilliant idea of the wager, and somehow managed to convince Klaus to join me. He hates to back down out of a little competition_

_I laid down some of the ground rules, and soon after we went our separate ways. It was a mere coincidence finding Caroline at the Grill. She was positively overjoyed to see me still alive…well I assumed so…I mean who wouldn't be._

_We shared a few drinks and some pleasantries here and there; she was definitely a feisty little blonde. No vampire or human would dare talk to me like the way she did. She has spirit, a trait I admire about her._

_Although, at some point I may have been a tad too forward with her; a mere touch sent her running in the other direction. I think after 100 years under, I've lost my touch. _

_It almost won me the wager though…almost…_

_I was especially annoyed when she interrupted my dinner. Wasn't in a happy mood once I got back home. _

_I haven't seen Klaus yet today. I'm not entirely confident what I'm expecting from him, but I can predict this: things are going to get a lot more interesting these next few days. I'll make sure of it._

OOO

Caroline frowned slightly. This bet…intrigued her. She even recalled the day that he was referring to in this entry. It was right before Klaus started acting really strange around her. He seemed tense that day and more unfocused, unlike how he normally was.

So…what sort of 'agreement' was Kol writing about?

A small voice in her head screamed to shut the book. Journals are in fact supposed to be secret. If someone were to read her private entries, it'd be quite embarrassing. They're her most inner thoughts that she shared with no one.

Although, it was very difficult keeping her hand steady as it reached over of its own accord and turned the page. She felt a twinge of guilt as her eyes met the next page, but it was quickly overridden by the sheer weight of curiosity.

OOO

_Day Two._

_Never saw the day where I would actually attend 'school.' But, I'm driven to do wild things. Rebekah's reaction was to be expected. She was quite adamant in keeping up her reputation…like it even matters at such a primitive high school. _

_Also had a little run in with Caroline again. She was quite aggressive towards me. It's hard to admit it, but I enjoy her little spark…it keeps me entertained._

_I assumed I got through to her. If not hopefully Klaus hasn't had much luck either. I have this small fear that he might actually…_

…_Nah. Unlikely._

_Its not like I'd be jealous…I never get jealous. People get jealous of me._

_That bastard. Walking in during class acting as if his clever; since when is impersonating a teacher being 'clever.' Seeing Caroline's reaction, it certainly was amusing though. Good work Nik._

_I had no choice but to act perfectly normal, stuck doing a pointless experiment. It past the time writing in this stupid journal. _

_I have no choice but to write this though…its unfortunately part of the wager. Why did I even come up with it? Oh that's right…I wanted to read how big of a success I am. Logging off…for now._

OOO

Okay…this is weird, Caroline thought. There was an awful lot in the journal about her. She didn't know whether to be flattered or afraid. It looked like she was the key focus on some sort of game, whatever it was.

As much as Kol wrote about this mysterious bet, though, he didn't come out and write down exactly what the bet entailed. She wondered if reading this journal was entirely worth it. It was mainly to satisfy her curiosity, but it looked like it might raise more questions than it answered…

But of course, she already started it. Caroline hooked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned over the journal again. Luckily Kol's handwriting was neat and the entries fairly brief, it probably wouldn't take too long to finish it up. Then she could somehow put it back before it raised any suspicion.

OOO

_Damn. I later caught the two of them actually bonding. Maybe I have my work cut out for me. But I was sure I'd actually win the wager. No. I must not lose confidence now. I still have the upper advantage. _

_It doesn't help that I intimidate Caroline. I'm not sure how, but I intimidate a lot of people. I can't help it. Once I have my eyes on something, I can't take them off of it. _

_Maybe I should try smiling more…_

_(_Caroline scoffed slightly. Kol smiled a little too much for her liking.)

…_Oh well. It's not important. _

_Caroline was getting a little suspicious. She knows something is up. Klaus makes it so damned obvious though. If he'd just act perfectly normal everything would go according to plan. _

_Well, Klaus' antics today almost ruined it. She disappeared quickly after our little discussion. Klaus is looking troubled since we started the bet…I wonder if it's actually getting to him. I hope it is. I want him to suffer when I win the wager._

_One good thing about today, was pushing Klaus over the top. He knows his in for some good competition. _

_There is that thing coming up tomorrow that Caroline had been organising. Some ridiculous themed party. Not something I'd choose myself, but, what must be done, must be done. Klaus, I'm pretty sure is attending. His been stomping around the house like an elephant, he needs a release. _

_I'm pretty sure I'm the cause of it…_

_What am I saying? I'm always the cause of it._

_He hasn't been talking to me much. This wager has really made an affect on him. With any luck he won't develop any feelings for Miss Forbes. It would just make him weak. I don't want that. _

_Somehow, tomorrow night, I have to get Caroline alone. Then I might have a chance at ending this thing. It's taking quite a toll on Klaus. I'm not sure if I should be happy, or…_

…_wait…why am I even in conflict? I never do that. Cursed. This must be affecting me too. _

_No matter. My next step is to get close to the lovely Caroline. She won't be able to resist me. I'll just make sure to keep her away from Klaus and whatever lame attempts he might pull to get one up on me for this bet._

_Over my dead body. Hah. The irony. _

_Nevertheless, I've got to get my beauty sleep. I have to look sharp for tomorrow's activities._

OOO

Caroline leaned back against the chair in exhaustion. There was too much information to absorb; it was tiring her out. Again with the references. Just what exactly was this playing at, anyway?

And for some reason, Kol seemed pretty jealous when he caught her and Klaus spending time together. It didn't even click. She thought it was just Kol being himself…but…what was he talking about, getting close to her?

Klaus developing feelings? Their wager…

It had something to do with the wager. That day in the Grill, Kol said he almost won the bet.

Slowly, a thought was coalescing in her mind.

If she hadn't have walked away, Kol would have won the bet? But she did…so he didn't win.

And what was with Klaus? That he might be developing feelings for her? It can't be right…it's Klaus…he doesn't have any emotions or feelings whatsoever other than anger and rage.

Caroline's face flamed, either from embarrassment or anger, she wasn't sure. She just knew that she had been the focus of two originals these past few days. What was it about her that had their attention? What did the bet even involve? There were so many questions still unanswered.

She set her mouth in a firm, thin line and turned to the next entry.

OOO

_Day Three_

_Today was rather weird. Rebekah was somewhat helpful in picking out a costume. I was surprised she wasn't attending herself, but she said the theme was too ridiculous. I tend to agree._

_Standing there wearing that kilt…it lowered my level of dignity. I have more self-respect than that. _

_Rebekah didn't seem too phased about my attire. _

_Klaus was upset…and that was an understatement. I had no idea he could be so moody, until this morning. The hybrid practically ignored me when I tried to address him. How rude._

_After things were settled a little, it turned out that he too was attending the dance. My mind was positively racing, nothing would turn out better; it was all set in motion._

_The one problem today had been Rebekah. She almost found the journal. She has a tendency to touch things she shouldn't, and that includes people._

_Luckily I was able to get the blasted thing off of her before she found out too much._

_I was out of there before she could ask anything. _

_Normally I never dress up to impress people, because I already do that anyway without having to…but something about Caroline makes me want to make an effort. It feels good. Gives me a nice feeling in the pit of my stomach. And so does her smile…_

_Please tell me I didn't write that. Have I gotten soft? No…that's Klaus. _

_Being around her makes me feel...trapped? I'm unable to explain it. Does that make me weak? Questions, so many questions. _

_I've never noticed before how delicate she can seem. A simple touch sent her in the opposite direction. I might actually have an affect on her. _

_Going back on topic…my attempts to get Klaus rivalled up for tonight fell on deaf ears once more. It only made him more determined to win the wager…_

_I can't let him win this…_

OOO

Caroline's face burned. These words…written by Kol…!

These few entries whilst still raising a whole lot of questions, still put a lot of the randomness of the past few days into a different perspective. This was another day I remembered well. The day of the dance. Hell, it was only a few hours ago. Yesterday, since it was way past midnight.

She pondered for a second. Flipping the page over, she realized that the entry for that day wasn't complete. Maybe it might shed a little more light on things. After all, this was when Kol and Klaus both had a sudden interest in her…

Maybe it was all part of the wager Kol kept talking about…

OOO

_Turns out Klaus' not as much of an idiot as I thought. He'd actually managed to get a dance from Caroline. I'm surprised I even have the time to be writing this. Elena and she walked off before I had a chance to approach Caroline. Such a shame._

_Earlier in the night though, I made eye contact with her immediately upon my arrival. She was with another…I've forgotten her name…Amanda? Something like that. Well she approached me, and it seemed…awkward. Not something I'm entirely interested in._

_I managed to turn her down and follow after Caroline. I finally got her alone. It wasn't for long, but it seemed enough to tell her I'm interested. I hope I got the message across clearly enough._

_But Klaus…I'm completely speechless. His actually trying. And when she laughed at Klaus' move…I dunno…I just felt…_

_Ugh._

_This bet is getting to me._

_It was supposed to be fun. Later though, I'll let Klaus know that he isn't going to win this bet so easily. As much fun it's been, the wager is starting to get serious. Time to get down and dirty. _

OOO

The pages sat there in front of her eyes. She didn't know what to think. Caroline didn't really comprehend them all that well at this particular moment. Kol…jealous?

Of Klaus?

And Klaus trying to…that was why he danced with her. Just to get close.

Wow. This was all a lot to take in for Caroline.

She wondered absently how this sort of thing was supposed to make someone feel. Sure it really is a pompous thing for the two of them to be doing. At some level, Caroline as an individual, should be offended. That it really was a blatant lack of respect that those two were doing this…

But, Caroline finds it hard to admit it…the inner girl in her was busy being excited and flattered. She didn't like to think about it…well at some level…but Kol and Klaus really are good looking. Scratch that….flawless. Caroline couldn't help but swoon at the sight of them; she was a teenage girl anyway. She was allowed to look but not touch.

And they both have their strong points…and their negative points.

But really…Caroline was still in some sort of weird shock over all this.

She couldn't do much but read on.

OOO

_Okay…I'm starting to think the stress is getting to me badly now. I almost lost control when Elena attacked me. I never lose control…never. Unless I myself allow it. But thinking about Caroline and Klaus, made my judgement cloudy._

_What's a matter with me?_

_I'm definitely going to have to kill someone. I probably won't have a restful night of sleep ever again until I do. _

_I had almost convinced myself to not harm anyone tonight. But Elena seemed like such a tempting target. Her blood was too hard to resist. I don't know how Caroline could stand being around Elena. _

_Her blood…was very alluring. Elena, being the doppelganger, had this unique scent about her. I couldn't help myself get excited at the smell of her blood. _

_And then, the blasted weather went and ruined everything…temporarily. I was originally awake by the time she had woken up from the black out…but just the feel of her so close to me. It was…invigorating, I couldn't stand to move away from her._

_She wasn't very surprised when she woke up with my arm wrapped around her. I could feel her heart quicken from the close distance between us. She was…excited? I didn't expect that sort of response. But I was satisfied nonetheless._

_It was a pleasurable experience, I must admit. She smelt…fantastic. For the first time, I might actually have…_

_No…it's not possible. I'm a vampire. We mustn't develop feelings. It's a sign of weakness…frailty. I'm __**not**__ frail. _

OOO

The thought that was going over and over in her mind was that…Kol had penned these words only a few hours ago.

It must've been when she left him back at the mansion to get refreshments. That meant that these very thoughts were going through his head…a few hours ago. So, recently…

Kol…_Liked_ her?

The idea was almost mind blowing. An original…handsome as he is…liked her.

Like…a lot.

But it made it seem like Klaus might be of a like mind too.

But one question remained…how the hell did those two find themselves in a bet like this?

Caroline leaned back slightly and glanced out the window. The night was turning slowly but surely into the small morning hours. She still had a little left to read in this journal before she would have to stow it away.

She turned the page again. This was a pretty long entry…still the same one.

OOO

_Later, I had a bit of a misfortune involving splinters. It wasn't as painful as I made it out to be, but Caroline seemed intent on helping me. _

_She even accompanied me back to the mansion. Now that's just asking for trouble. She should know that. It didn't stop her though._

_My luck was definitely improving when she followed me up to my room. She offered to get me some refreshments…a.k.a blood._

_I happily accepted the offer, no hesitations. I'm not sure why, but the simple act of a mere touch from Caroline, made me feel…I'm not sure how to explain it…a little calmer. A little more content._

_It felt natural._

_Even when she offered me refreshments, it didn't faze me too much. So she knew I was hungry…big deal._

_The bet somehow, is actually putting a lot of things into perspective for me. I discovered Klaus actually has some sense of emotion. _

_It somewhat, surprised me a smidgen. The way he looked at her whilst on the dance floor tonight and she looked at him. I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. And then she stood alone with me, inside the walls of my own bedroom. How jealous would Klaus be right about now? _

_Miss Caroline Forbes. She's definitely something. I'm still doubtful whether or not it's her spark personality, or her stunning features. I happen to think it's both._

_Klaus is going to be furious. He would hate the fact that I was alone with Caroline. When she gets back, I intend to pursue her further, if she lets me. _

_I could have just ignored the bet and let Klaus pursue her for all he's worth. But, I'm afraid I might feel…empty…if I did do that. _

_Two days ago, I would have laughed at the very notion that Caroline would kiss Klaus, but now I'm not so sure…_

_After I saw those two together…well, I was caught off guard, and that almost never happens._

_Dammit._

OOO

That was the very last entry. It was dated a few hours ago…

He must have written it right before Caroline found the journal. Right before she practically had to pull bits of wood out of his back while he was half naked.

Caroline's heart jolted at the memory.

And…

Wow…she couldn't really think of anything to do.

Truly, the whole concept of the bet was really…childish. Regardless of the revelations that two very good looking originals…liked her…it was a childish, juvenile way to go about it.

Caroline frowned. She was definitely flattered, and giddy that they were competing for her attention like that. But…

She got the feeling that she was the prize in a competition. And it's not the best feeling in the world. It's not a very romantic take on relationships, by any means. Caroline liked that idea of slowing forming a romantic bond between two people, and then finally admitting their feelings for one another. This was just…well…

Caroline sighed, rubbing her hands on her forehead. She couldn't decide whether to be angry or just kinda…sad.

Then…an idea formed.

Caroline gently closed the journal and manoeuvred her way to the bed. She could feel a smile forming on her face as the tiny threads of an idea started to coalesce in her mind.

The boys aren't the only ones who can play mind games.

It was Caroline Forbes they were messing around with. She wasn't sure if she would allow either of them to win…but at least she could have some fun with it all for a little while.

Who knows…it could be fun.

She eased into sleep, not bothering to fight the smirk that she could feel growing on her face.

Kol and Klaus think they can get away with this?

They'll see.

**A/N: **Wow just wow. I non-stop wrote this. Longest chapter yet and I did it straight in 3 hours. What did you think? It was really hard writing in Kol's POV. I wasn't sure if I should show a weaker side to him, or just keep him evil. I sort of did in between. Hope you like this chapter, and it's about to get a lot worse for Kol and Klaus next chapters or so. There's gonna be some more competition between them both.

**Here are last week's poll results:**

Read it and play long with the bet without Kol and Klaus knowing – 50 percent

Read it and Kol gets angry - 33 percent

Read it and confront both Kol and Klaus about it - 16 percent

Don't Read it, and give it back to Kol feeling guilty - 0 percent

Don't Read it and ask Klaus what it's about - 0 percent

Don't Read it, and give it to someone else to read it - 0 percent

So you guys really wanted her to read it. Poor Kol :P It was fun to write nonetheless, although hard. Kol is definitely hard to write when it comes to personal feelings. Don't forget to vote and review, because I always love votes and reviews :D

Next poll is up now! Go vote!

**What emotions should arise next chapter?**


	10. Chapter 10 Healthy Competition

**Healthy Competition**

Caroline rushed along towards the grill. She was about an hour or so late meeting up with Elena, simply because she slept in. After last night, Caroline was drained and her mind was racing with information. How could it not? This whole week Kol and Klaus had been using her for a game…it wasn't that she felt disappointed; it was more like being used, and Caroline does _not_ like being used. She was not going to be played with by some originals.

As Caroline was walking away from her car towards the Grill's entrance, she heard a voice calling her. She looked round in surprise and suppressed a grimace. Not quite the person she was hoping to see.

"Caroline," Klaus greeted her. She looked up at him with bleary, unfocused eyes as he walked up to her.

"Oh-…Klaus," she replied suspiciously, looking anywhere but at him. He wasn't the particular person she wanted to have a conversation with at with moment.

Klaus noticed she looked extremely tired. Her face was drawn and her eyes nearly as red as a tomato. "Are you feeling alright love?" he asked, automatically reaching his hand up to her forehead; although, Caroline swatted his hand away.

"I'm fine…just fine thankyou very much," Caroline snapped, pulling her hair out of her face. She was being extremely awkward. She had to keep it together before Klaus suspected anything.

He smirked. "I'm thinking a drink might lift your mood. Join me?"

"I'm meeting up with Elena," she responded bluntly.

"I don't mind her company." Caroline lifted her head up at him, completely changing her expression into a slight grin.

"You know what," she started, "why not? You _should _join us Klaus." Caroline could hear the amusement in her own voice. He cocked an eyebrow at Caroline with a slight smile.

"Perfect," he replied, clearing his throat. Placing a hand on the curve of her back, Klaus guided her towards the Grill.

"Maybe I should invite Kol to join us?" Caroline suggested, smirking at his quick change in expression. Klaus stiffened at the mention of his brother.

"That won't be necessary..." Deep inside, Caroline was laughing with happiness. It's actually working…

"You sure?" Caroline repeated.

"Kol stayed up rather late last night, I'm sure he won't want to be disturbed," Klaus explained.

Caroline smiled in response as they walked through the doors to the Grill. Klaus seemed so eager to avoid Kol, and he wasn't hiding that fact very well. Caroline could see right through him.

She never knew why people always wanted the truth until now. It's surprising how much people find out.

She spotted Elena sitting in one of the booths, mixing her drink side to side with a straw. Elena's face brightened when she saw Caroline walk towards her, but immediately frowned when she saw Klaus beside her.

"Uh…Klaus," she greeted uncertainly, shifting her gaze quickly to Caroline who just shrugged as she sat beside her best friend.

"Hello my lovely," Klaus responded, sitting opposite them. "How's everything?"

"Uh…fine," she responded a bit worried. The truth was she hadn't seen Caroline since last night. And with her showing up late today with Klaus of all people, she had grown increasingly uncomfortable. "Care, where were you last night?" Elena asked, changing the subject.

"Yes Caroline, do tell." Caroline gave Klaus a menacingly glare and he folded his arms in amusement, before turning to Elena to explain.

"I went home," she said simply. "That's all."

"That's all," Elena repeated, still a bit suspicious about the vampire. Caroline nodded.

Klaus chuckled slightly in response, causing the two women to stare at him strangely. "Mm…See, I think you're lying, Caroline." His smile immediately diminished, showing his all seriousness.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"I sniffed your scent out as soon as I walked through my front door," Klaus explained. "Now, what were you doing in my house?"

His comment left Caroline speechless. He was smarter than he looked. "Fine…I'll tell you," Caroline snapped, sighing heavily. "Kol was injured after the incident last night, and I helped him get back home." Elena looked displeased at Caroline, but Klaus was still as suspicious as before.

"So why the need to lie about it?" Caroline looked down at the table avoiding Klaus' gaze, swallowing hard.

"I…I don't know," she responded, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She glanced up at Klaus who was staring right back at her, but immediately looked away.

Klaus stood up suddenly. "If that is all…I'll make my leave." Caroline went to open her mouth, but closed it again, hesitant of what might come out. He gave one last look towards the two confused ladies, before walking away from them both.

Elena breathed out a big sigh of relief she had been holding in, before turning to Caroline. "What was that all about?"

Caroline looked overly distant, watching as Klaus walked out of the grill. She hoped he wasn't that angry at her. She doesn't need a vengeful hybrid on her hands. What if he does something he'll regret? Or worse…

"Caroline?" Elena asked, placing her hand on Caroline's shoulder.

"Nevermind. I'm going home," Caroline finally said, moving herself out of the booth.

"Hey, I'm worried about you," Elena spoke gently, grabbing Caroline's arm to stop her from walking away.

"Look, I'm fine," Caroline responded, yanking her arm away from Elena. She sighed at her friend's persistence, before leaving her alone to her thoughts.

000000000000000000000

Caroline walked slowly across the lawn towards her house. Her day hadn't gone as planned. Her catch-up date with Elena had been completely ruined by Klaus. He seemed rather tense when she mentioned her encounter with Kol last night. It's not like she did anything wrong.

But she didn't know what else to do that would make her day just a little bit better. Perhaps sitting down and watching the Notebook again while stuffing her face full of chips. That always worked. At the very least Caroline was relieved that she'd finally be alone. She needed some time to herself…the two original brothers hadn't given her much space this past week.

As she got to her door and took out the key, she neatly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Caroline turned the key and walked into her slightly dark living room. As soon as she walked through the door and closed it, she threw herself onto her couch and dropped everything she had been carrying on the floor next to her. Her legs were sprawled lazily over the arm of the couch as she leaned her head back, looking up towards the blank ceiling. It was slightly dark in the house, aside from the daylight shining through some of the windows.

The doorbell rang suddenly, causing Caroline to groan in frustration. What could anyone want now? She sighed heavily as she heaved herself off the couch walking towards her door. She couldn't see anyone standing outside. So instead she slowly opened the door. She noticed a large box sitting on her front porch. Caroline opened the door fully and hesitantly picked it up.

It was fairly heavy. She walked back inside, but not before taking a suspicious looked out towards her front lawn, and closing the door. Caroline walked slowly up the stairs to her bedroom, feeling the weight of her parcel. Once she got inside her bedroom, she placed the strange package on her bed.

She brushed her hand over the surface, contemplating whether or not to open it…who was she kidding? Of course she'd open it. Caroline quickly lifted the cover and gasped at the beautiful misty sapphire dress that lay beneath a note. It was encrusted with tiny silver jewels, a pattern that was probably crafted by angels. Caroline slowly picked up the card that sat gently on top. In fancy letters, it read:

PLEASE JOIN THE MIKAELSON FAMILY THIS EVENING AT SEVEN O'CLOCK FOR DANCING, COCKTAILS & CELEBRATION.

Caroline looked between the note, and the dress. She didn't know what to think. The originals had invited her to some fancy celebration, and she was expected to wear this dress? From what she gathered, it must've been from either Kol or Klaus, but who?

She turned over the card to find a little note on the back reading:

_You coming this evening should help make up for lying to me before. So I suggest you do. _

_Try the dress. It will look stunning for a lovely lady such as you._

_Klaus_

Rolling her eyes, Caroline threw the card on the floor. She didn't really have much say in the matter. Caroline carefully lifted the dress from the box, observing its angelic features. It was beautiful, to say the least. She was definitely stunned about how he would acquire such a dress…wait…what was she thinking? His an original. They get anything or anyone they desired. But Caroline wasn't going to allow that tonight. Those original brothers were in for a treat.

0000000000000000000000

"Are you alright Nik? You're looking a little pale?" Rebekah asked Klaus as guests started pouring into the hall of the mansion. She broke his intense gaze towards the entrance, and he turned to face his sister.

"Never better," he responded simply, grabbing her glass of wine before immediately walking away from Rebekah to avoid any small talk. She scoffed in response, not liking her brother's behaviour. She noticed Kol pouring himself another glass of whiskey, not being too picky by the amount. Rebekah walked over to her brother, grabbing his arm tightly and pulling him away. She was not happy.

"What are you doing, Kol?" Rebekah asked, as she dragged him over to a private area of the hallway.

"What am I doing…I was happily indulging myself with a bit of…this…before you so rudely interrupted me…now, what are _you _doing?"

"I meant with Klaus, you idiot," Rebekah responded harshly. "His been acting a little bit off his game lately…" Kol's face curved up into a wide grin.

"He seems perfectly fine to me," Kol stated, lifting up his glass towards Rebekah, before taking another huge sip. "Now if you would excuse me…" He handed her the near empty glass, and walked off. Something had so readily caught his attention.

00000000000000000000000

"You look nervous," Elena said, breaking Caroline out of her Kol induced daze.

"Um…yeah…I'm fine," Caroline finally managed to choke out rather hoarsely. This only sought to confirm Elena's suspicions that something was going on with her friend.

"Ok-ay," she responded doubtfully. Damon walked towards the two ladies, greeting them with the lift of his champagne glass. "Good evening ladies," Damon greeted. Elena was surprisingly unimpressed by his arrival. "Such a waste, isn't it?" He looked to Elena giving her his very alluring smirk. She only looked to him in confusion, not knowing exactly what he meant.

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning her head to Caroline, giving her a sceptical expression.

"Well, you dressed up so…nicely, that I'm going to have to take you back home anyway."

"Um…no you're not," she responded a bit more harshly. "Esther said-"

"-No…_I _say, to go home right now before you get yourself killed." He grabbed her on the arm, attempting to drag her away, but Caroline stopped him.

"If you're going to be a selfish dick, please don't act like you actually care what Elena thinks."

Caroline simply stood there as Damon narrowed his eyes at her, but then chuckled as he realised their awkward situation. "I don't really care what you think blondie."

"Well, you should." Elena forced her arm about of Damon's tight grip, giving him her usual disappointed look, before walking quickly away from him, her heals clunking heavily along the floor as she did so.

"Now look what you've done," Damon complained, causing Caroline to scoff in response.

"What I've done! You practically just assaulted Elena," Caroline laughed in disbelief. She didn't realise how ignorant Damon could be sometimes. She didn't know how Elena put up with the Salvatore's efforts to constantly undermine her.

"Well, maybe if she wasn't so bent on herself getting killed, I _might_…have been a little more lenient."

"Wow Damon…" she was practically speechless. Damon shook his head sighing in frustration, grabbing another glass of champagne off the tray the waiter had walked past with. He took a rather large sip before taking his leave away from Caroline, bumping her harshly in the shoulder.

She relaxed as he left, not realising how much tension she was feeling just from that little confrontation with Damon. Wasn't this supposed to be a fun night? And now she was left standing by herself in the middle of an overly posh crowed. Luckily she was wearing the right attire.

Caroline felt a tingle of goose bumps trail up her back when she could feel two pairs of eyes staring at her. She looked through the crowd and noticed Kol staring at her with tortuous eyes. Her nerves rose in the pit of her stomach when he rose his glass to her, widening his grin plastered on his face.

The simple tuxedo he wore fitted perfectly to his athletic form, making him look incredibly handsome. Caroline had to control some of her emotions just by looking at him.

And then there was Klaus…grinning towards her like a madman. He too looked just as sophisticated wearing his suit. He had shaved but there was still a hint of stubble left which Caroline found an incredible turn-on. She quickly found her place again once she realised she had been staring.

As soon as Caroline saw a waiter carrying champagne flutes she waved him over and eagerly took one, knowing that she'd need one to get through tonight, especially if she needed to plan her revenge slow and painfully for the two vampires. Although, her mood continued to get progressively brighter once she saw their efforts to make her jealous. They didn't dare approach her…until she approached them first. But she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.

Caroline remained near the entrance in case she need a quick getaway. She could never be _too_ careful. Once she grabbed another glass from the waiter, Kol strolled towards her direction, continuously studying her up and down.

As he made his way over, Caroline merely stared ahead, ignoring him as he stood by her side. "Having fun?" he asked mischievously, also facing towards whatever it was she was staring at intently.

She smiled flirtatiously, turning her head to look at him. "Yes, I am actually."

"Mmmm…I'm sure you are…especially in that dress. You certainly have all the men…" Kol paused for a second, thinking of an appropriate word to use, "-aroused, by your appearance."

"Why, you jealous that you don't have me all to yourself?" Caroline confronted, with a hint of a smirk. Kol merely chuckled in response, observing his near empty glass of champagne.

"No..." Caroline gave him a curious look as he shifted his form closer to hers. "It just makes me want you even more," he whispered, leaning in closer towards her ear.

She faced down to her feet that were covered by her dress, laughing awkwardly at his comment. She looked back up again, recovering from her small fit of laughter. "Do you always use that line to get girls?"

"No…but I usually don't make much of an effort to 'get girls,' you on the other hand, make me work for it."

"And why are you, exactly?" Caroline heard some amusement in her voice. Was she actually enjoying this?

"Well darling, you've got all the curves, and I got all the angles. Two and two together would be quite the…experience." He walked past her, purposely brushing his own body against hers as he left. Caroline could smell his strong tangy aroma as he breezed past her, it gave her chills.

"My brother takes quite an interest in you…" Caroline was quickly interrupted again by a familiar voice.

"Oh, not you too," she complained, looking straight into the eyes of the hybrid. She was already feeling rather hot just from talking to Kol. Now Klaus was only going to make it worse. "Next time you should warn Kol to keep it in his pants."

"I'm somewhat, incapable when it comes to controlling his…urges," Klaus responded, exchanging harmonized expressions with Kol. He gave his brother a small smirk before turning back to Caroline.

"I think his hoping for a fun night," Klaus stated. Kol continued talking to some of the guests, but his mouth grew up into a small smirk at hearing Klaus's statement. Both were in for some healthy competition.

**A/N: **I hate being the one to update late, and make lame excuses for it, but I've been really busy with school, and I volunteer myself in too many extra-curricular activities. That's what I get for being a music student. Anyway, I hope this chapter was to your liking. There will be more 'amusement' ;) between Klaus and Caroline (depending on the votes of course), and plenty of Kol and Caroline next few chapters. Sorry for any mistakes and I know this isn't my best chapter…but I've been tired lately and school is really draining me.

**Here are last chapter's poll results:**

Amusement (Caroline) – 41 percent

Jealously (Klaus) - 25 percent

Anger (Kol) - 16 percent

Curiosity (Elijah) - 8 percent

Bitterness (Rebekah) - 8 percent

Guilt (Elena) - 0 percent

Next poll is up now! Go vote and reviews are more that welcome! :D

**The Seven Deadliest Sins. Choose One.**


	11. Chapter 11 Chemistry

**Chemistry**

Caroline drummed her fingers on top of the refreshment table, as she waited for more of those mini burgers to come out. She enjoyed them. She leaned her head back and sighed. Waiting was boring. Luckily her 'secret admirers' were currently distracted by the other guests, Caroline finally had a minute to herself.

She walked away from the table, slightly impatient about the long wait. Klaus began walking towards her through the crowd. Caroline turned around sharply and went into the other direction to avoid any confrontation. It was too soon to talk to Klaus.

Strolling up the stairs, Caroline weaved between the guests, and eventually came to a series of rooms along a long dimly lit hallway at the top. _Hmm…should I or shouldn't I?_ Caroline thought to herself, narrowing her eyes slightly in contemplation. _What the hell, why not!_ Caroline looked around the place to see if the coast is clear, in case she wasn't supposed to be up here; which she assumed she wasn't.

She slowly walked down the hallway, and tried the first door. Locked. 'Dammit,' she cursed, jingling the door handle again in case it did open. Caroline went to the next door, thankfully it was open. She'd decided to do some snooping around; it might help to see what the originals have planned.

Pushing the door open, Caroline peaked inside but was severely disappointed as she looked around. The room was very clean and orderly. Walking around the bed, Caroline observed the slightly empty room. _Well this was a waste of time. This room is so plain, and damn is it ever neat,_ Caroline thought. She stopped by the foot of the dresser, noticing a drawer that's half open. She pulls it out slowly and sees a stack of papers inside. _Hello…_Caroline lifts up a few of the white sheets.

Her eyes widen in surprise. Its drawings…of her. When she turned around looking at them, she immediately stopped, noticing Klaus leaning against the frame of the door smirking.

Caroline smiled guiltily and quickly hid the pieces of art behind her back.

"I see you've made yourself at home," Klaus observed, fully aware of what Caroline held in her hands.

"Uh…yes," Caroline admitted, looking really suspicious. Klaus had a slight grin on his face that did a funny thing to her stomach. Making it do flip flops for a second before collecting her thoughts enough to realize that he was talking.

"…you've been on edge lately; I'm starting to wonder what you and your little group of misfits have been up to lately."

"Nothing!" she put out, perhaps a little too fast. "I haven't really been doing anything important these days."

He smiled at her comment, making his way closer to where she was standing. "So what mischief involves snooping around my humble adobe?" Klaus edged forward, only inches apart from her face. Caroline could practically feel his breath tickle her cheek. She idly reached a hand up to her shoulder and scratching at it gingerly, avoiding his eye contact at all costs.

Giving his most mysterious grin, he stepped behind her and snatched the drawings from her hand that gripped it behind her back. He guided her to sit on the bed. "

"I was only curious…" she answered, as she looked up at him bating her eyes affectionately.

"Haven't you ever heard my dear Caroline…?" Klaus began, seating himself closely beside Caroline on the bed, "…curiosity kills the cat."

Caroline flinched suddenly away from Klaus when he pulled back a curl away from her face. She immediately stood up from the bed, quickly moving out of his eyesight. Klaus turned around, but she wasn't there anymore. That was odd…

Klaus didn't even hear her move at all. She didn't even make a sound.

Keeping up this wager was much harder than he originally thought. "Brilliant plan, Klaus," he mumbled sarcastically to himself, lips twisting into a frown. He was just getting ready to stand and head back downstairs, when he felt a weight come down on both of his shoulders, pushing him straight back down onto the bed.

He started in surprise, twisting around. Klaus found himself staring into light green emerald eyes, tinged with a blue radiance. Those eyes were smiling warmly.

"Nice work?" Caroline asked him, "For what?"

"It…it's of no importance," Klaus managed to say. "What do you think your doing?" Caroline was kneeling behind Klaus on the bed, leaning over his body.

She shrugged. Klaus felt her hands on his shoulders contract gently, and then felt her fingers push deeper onto his firm shoulder muscles. "You look a little tense. So I figured I'd help out."

Caroline straightened up smiling cheekily, resting one hand on his cheek and angling his head forward. Klaus happily obeyed her touch unquestioningly, finding himself groaning to the pleasant feel of her handiwork.

"Do I need to ask again what are you doing?"

"A shoulder rub always helped me out when I was younger, when I was stressed out over things." She replied, at the same time that her fingers began to knead into Klaus' shoulders. It felt…

If felt very good.

She continued, "So I figured it might help you out too." Her thumbs provided a steady pressure against the long, flat muscles on Klaus' back as her fingertips grazed over his neck and collarbone.

Klaus felt his eyes starting to droop in pleasure at the sensations that her hands were introducing to his muscles. He hadn't noticed how tense he had been for the past few days, but Caroline sure had a knack for smoothing the knots out…

Heavenly.

He didn't know how long he sat there on the bed, Caroline's hands smoothly pummelling muscles that had become bunched up and strained over the past few days of playing Kol's games. It must have been the better part of twenty minutes, at least.

The question that still remained: why was Caroline doing this? She didn't so much as go near him this past week. Even when the majority of the tension left, he didn't want her to stop what she was doing.

It was all he could do not to groan at the relaxation that this whole situation was bringing to him. "Mmm…my dear?" he mumbled, "You are quite…mmm…"

Caroline lightly chuckled. Her hands never stopped their soothing motion. "Was that a compliment?" she responded simply.

If Klaus had been more conscious, perhaps he would be feeling a little humiliated for being so exposed in front of Caroline. Instead, he was so languid by the time Caroline had finished that he replied with, "Mmmm…maybe I'll return the favour sometime…"

He heard another laugh. "If your up to it." Her hands continued up from his shoulders until they reached the nape of his neck.

"I believe you'd have your work cut out for you." Klaus' skin prickled at this touch, causing goose bumps to form. He soon felt her voice in his ear. Felt her breath caress his jaw.

"Feel better?" she asked him, her whisper loud in his ear. Klaus turned his head quickly towards her, pleased to find her face a bare three inches from his.

"That was very…pleasurable." Caroline smiled again before she went to sit by his side. "Good," she said.

"Let's do it again sometime," Klaus asked, giving Caroline a wide smirk. He suddenly heard a loud smash downstairs, accompanied by a couple of high pitched screams. Klaus' expression immediately changed.

"If you would excuse me," Klaus said worriedly, "I need to see if my house is still intact." He went to stand up and move to the door, but Caroline spoke up before he left.

"You owe me one," Caroline called, still seated on top of the bed.

"On the contrary Caroline, I believe it's the other way round," he responded smirking.

She was struck speechless at that comment as Klaus quickly left the room. Caroline couldn't stop smiling though as she laid back down onto the bed, twirling a bit of hair around her fingers.

OOO

Caroline did not want to go back downstairs and face the music. Klaus was probably bragging to Kol right this second. She didn't regret it though. Just seeing the look on Klaus' face made her feel victorious. She started to think where she was going with this. She couldn't give away any clue that she knew about their wager.

Maybe she should have them work for her. She wasn't free.

Caroline saw Kol enter the room suddenly, but he didn't seem to notice her. He walked over to the drawers, opening each of them up to search under all of Klaus' folded up clothes and rags. When he had no such luck in finding whatever it was he was looking for, he opened the cupboard and flicked through each item of clothing. Kol made sure to look inside each of the jacket pockets. He even went as far to look in Klaus' pants pockets.

"Looking for something?" Caroline asked, amused by his shocked face when he spun around. He looked speechless for a second, but quickly resumed his search in the cupboard.

"Klaus hid a bottle of my favourite whiskey around," he started, checking inside some of the shoes at the bottom of his cupboard, "but I just can't seem to…bingo!" Kol reached inside one of Klaus' boots and pulled out a tall bottle, "his hiding places are getting quite ingenious." Caroline lifted herself off the bed, taking a seat on the edge.

"Want some?" Kol offered, taking out two glasses from Klaus' other boot. Caroline nodded. She didn't have nearly enough alcohol to last the evening. He carelessly poured the liquid in both the glasses.

"So, what exactly are you doing in Klaus' room?" he asked, handing her the shot of whiskey. "He rarely ever lets anyone come in here…even me sometimes." Kol lazily seated himself on the bed, and laid down on top of Klaus' pillows, crossing one leg over the other.

"Maybe I'm special," Caroline responded, smirking affectionately in Kol's direction.

Kol grinned, "There's no doubt about that." He lifted his glass and gulped down the rest of the liquid, grimacing at the strong taste. "I think he likes you," he suggested, getting up from the bed to pour himself another glass.

Caroline took her heels off her feet in order to release the tension she was feeling. She followed closely behind him, sipping a small taste of the whiskey she held in her hands. "And what makes you think that." Caroline stood behind him, as she could hear the liquid being poured into his own glass.

"My remarkable sense of judgement," Kol turned fully around to face her. She was short and petite compared to Kol without her shoes. It made her feel very vulnerable. The sight of him though, tall, dark and handsome, combined with his sweet smell of aftershave, made her stomach do turns. It didn't help that she stood close enough to him that she could feel his breath touch her skin.

"What's your sense of judgement telling you now?" Caroline asked without thinking, her heart rate increasing at their close proximity.

"Nothing," he said simply, looking down on her.

"What's that supposed to mean," she responded bluntly, her tone a bit more harsh. She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Kol cracked a very small smile at that, and leaned down into her ear.

"Turn the other way," he whispered gently. He placed both his hands on her waist. She looked at him a moment, blinked and did what she was asked. She turned as his hands guided her. He pushed Caroline's back against himself, and looked over towards the thin strap that held up her dress, his hands still grasping her waist.

Kol leaned his head down onto her shoulder and let his lips hover above the strap. Caroline could feel his warm breath tickle the surface of the skin. He placed a simple light kiss which sent waves of electricity through Caroline.

He moved up her shoulder, leaving a trail of small kisses along the way. His tongue traced intricate designs on her neck, exploring the different tastes of her skin. Her body arched into his when he found a sensitive spot. Her fingers knotted themselves in his hair, almost to the point of pain as he dragged his teeth at the junction of her shoulder and neck.

"We shouldn't," Caroline tried to say, but Kol didn't listen.

He gently slid his open palm over her softly pale skin like a disease; his fingers dragging the thin strap across her shoulder to gain better access to the smooth skin.

Kol leaned down and kissed her shoulder, feather light; his hand wrapped around her arm and stroking her skin. Caroline's breath hitched in her throat. She groaned against his touch, closing her eyes to revel in the moment. He continued trailing kisses down her shoulder towards her neck.

She tried pulling away from him, but his grip was too strong.

He bit down lightly on the curve of her neck, but didn't draw any blood. "Is this judgement enough for you?" he whispers against her skin. She could feel the vibrations of his voice onto her skin; it sent cold shivers up and down her spine.

Feelings well up, trapped her answer inside her throat, and all she manages is a nod. There is no hesitation as she turned around to face him fully, crossing the distance between them fast. With a low growl her mouth descends on his, kissing him with a need that steals her breath and sets her nerves on fire, his tongue slipping past her parted lips as she gasps and arches against him.

It took Caroline a few seconds to realise what had happen…she had kissed him.

But before she could react, Kol pushed her roughly onto the bed as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. His answering groan is lost between them as he pushes himself on top of her and deepens the kiss, teeth scraping over bruised lips. Caroline can smell him, earthy, spicy and something else, something that is just him.

He nips at her bottom lip, sending electricity swarming inside her. Kol ghosted his hands up and down her body. Just as she was about to scream with excitement, she opened her eyes. Caroline took a deep breath out in surprise, sitting straight up from the bed. She was dreaming.

Caroline calmed down a bit. _That was intense_, she thought, breathing heavily.

"Enjoyed your dream did we?" Caroline jumped off the bed in horror when she heard a voice at the door. It was Kol. He leaned casually against the frame of the door, arms folded across his chest.

"You. So it was _you_ manipulating my dreams," Caroline pointed out in irritation; she grabbed each of her heels, and placed them quickly on her feet.

"Just showing you a glimpse of just how much I can turn you on," he responded with a grin, she headed to the door and went to push past him but he wouldn't let her.

"Yeah, you wish," Caroline retorted harshly, pushing firmly against his chest, but he was much stronger than she was.

"It looked like you were enjoying yourself." Caroline scoffed, blushing slightly under Kol's intense stare. "Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" This time she did manage to effectively push past him and walk away.

"Come on darling, it was just a bit of fun," he admitted, following her back to the party. She walked down the stairs with a completely normal expression on her face, attempting to ignore the voice behind her. But he was just that type of person someone couldn't ignore.

"Uh-huh…just a bit of harmless fun," she repeated angrily. She couldn't look at him…Caroline headed towards the exit, but before she could, Kol grabbed her arm.

"And where do you think your going?" he asked. Caroline sighed heavily in impatience and turned around, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"What do you want, Kol?" Kol still had a firm grip on her arm, refusing to let her go.

"I think you know exactly what I want," he stated smirking, lifting both his eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caroline folded her arms, giving him a very displeased look.

"I know that you know." Caroline gave him a confused look, but her heart rate increased slightly, realising exactly what he meant.

"Know what?" Playing the dumb card is something she does best.

Kol looked away from Caroline, chuckling slightly in response. As soon as he looked back at her, his face was serious. "You know exactly what I mean."

**A/N: **Uh-oh, what does this mean for Caroline? I bet you weren't expecting her to wake up from that dream :P You guys did ask for lust ;) I apologise for the late update, but exams are nearing, and my head has exploded through the roof…literally. But I hope those fluffy scenes were worth the wait ;)

**Here are last chapter's poll results:**

Lust (Kol) – 58 percent

Greed (Caroline) - 16 percent

Wrath (Klaus) - 8 percent

Envy (Rebekah) - 8 percent

Pride (Elijah) - 8 percent

Gluttony (Stefan) - 0 percent

Sloth (Damon) – 0 percent

Next poll is up now, go vote!

**What should Kol do?**


	12. Chapter 12 Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Caroline wasn't looking where she was going. So she ended up bumping roughly into Klaus which sent her head spinning around in circles. His first reaction was to laugh, but he choked it back at the last moment when he realised she had a bit too much to drink. "Slow down love, you'll hurt yourself," he cautioned.

Klaus held Caroline in his arms as she managed to get the spells of dizziness under control. She held her head and managed to stand up right. "I'll be fine," she stated simply, taking a breath out through her nose. "Ugh…" she held a hand to her stomach. "I just ate, too…" Klaus' eyes widened.

"I'll take you to the bathroom." he said immediately, "the last thing I want is you blowing grits all over my polished floors." No one seemed to notice Caroline gag for a second, as the contents in her stomach almost went out right then and there. It gave Klaus a sign that he had to get her to the bathroom fast.

His hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder, as she leaned against him. Caroline shook her head. "No…just..hang on a sec. I should be fine." Klaus scoffed in response, still attempting to lead her to the bathroom.

"You look far from it love," Klaus pointed out. He managed to get her through the door of the bathroom, and lean her head over the sink. Klaus manoeuvred his right arm so that it rested lightly on her waist, while she continued to support herself on his shoulder. She took several long, deep breaths.

After a few minutes, she lowered her head suddenly and regurgitated all of what she previously ate…mini burgers…lots of them. She had felt really upset when Kol had found out about her taking his journal. When they had talked earlier, she walked off. She could bear the thought of facing Kol again.

Caroline felt the contents burn her throat as she heaved. Klaus looked away from the sink, getting an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach as the smell reached his nose. After a letting go a few more times, she straightened back up. "Sorry…" she said, shaking her head.

Klaus however didn't respond. Caroline turned to look at him, and he was stuck frozen holding onto her. "Are you alright?" she asked. He looked down into the sink where her remains covered the inside. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Your cleaning that," he demanded, resulting in a surprised look from Caroline.

"Fine, I will," she replied bluntly. She noticed that Klaus was still holding onto her waist rather firmly. "I'm alright now."

He cocked his head. "Really?"

"Yeah…why?"

Klaus chuckled slightly. "Well, you're still holding onto me with a death grip." He looked over to his shoulder where Caroline held her hand tightly around his shoulder. She smiled, which puzzled Klaus, since she never really smiled towards him that much.

Caroline looked deep into Klaus' eyes for a second, memorized by his appearance; Klaus didn't even mind the smell of Caroline's breath; they just stared at each other. Klaus was about to open his mouth to say something, but Caroline suddenly lowered her body, spewing up more contents onto Klaus' pants and shoes.

He didn't do anything; just stood there with a blank expression on his face, to revel in the moment. He pursed his lips together to control his emotions, and stepped away from Caroline that was still on the floor.

"These are dolce," Klaus simply stated, "your paying to get them dry cleaned."

Caroline groaned and lifted her head, "Pay them yourself! And instead of just standing there, help me up!" Klaus hesitantly obliged, lifting Caroline up by her arm. She stumbled a bit but managed to get her balance.

"How did you manage to drink so much anyway?" Klaus asked, feeling the wetness of his messed up pants.

"I don't know."

Klaus frowned, looking at himself. His pants were completely covered with Caroline's remains, and his shoes had been targeted as well. Klaus couldn't believe his luck tonight. He wondered how Kol's night had turned out. Whether it had been as bad as he, or even worse.

"I'm going to go change my pants," he said in a huff, moving to walk out the door. Caroline held her hair back, ready to vomit again, but thankfully she was able to hold it down.

OOO

Kol drew himself up straighter, trying not to notice how annoyed he was about Caroline finding his journal. And the worst part was, she actually thought he was dumb enough not to know who took it. Who else would've taken it?

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Kol turned to Carol Lockwood standing by his side as he watched the people helplessly pour out of his home. His eyebrows rose a bit at her question, but she just smiled.

"I'm bored," he stated simply, taking another sip from his glass of wine he held in his hands.

"I'm getting kinda bored too." Kol looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to say that.

"Oh?" he responded, "Is there something you have in mind?" His smile turned at the edges, looking at Mrs. Lockwood in a fairly polite manner.

She smiled a little half-grin at him. "Join at the grill for a drink?" Kol shrugged, tilting his head to the side in contentment. That surprised him. The major wanted to hang out with a vampire? But then again, one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth…whatever that means.

"I might just take you up on that." He placed his glass down on one of the waiter's tray, and offered his arm to Carol. She laughed at his high level in formality, but gently placed her hand under his arm, as he led her towards the exit.

OOO

It was almost awkward.

When Klaus saw her again, all he could imagine was her throwing up. He just couldn't stand to see a woman like that. Something about her doing that had turned him off. Yes, she was still just as beautiful and riveting as before, but he still had a sick feeling inside his stomach when he remembered as the vile ended up on his pants and shoes.

Klaus had changed his attire into a simple jeans and a t-shirt, making sure to wrap his suit up neatly in a plastic bag. He walked out of his room to find Caroline standing outside his door.

"Finally, I've been waiting out here for ages, can I come in?" Caroline asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, she waltzed into his room. Klaus turned around to stop her, but it was too late, she entered his room without a second thought.

She sprawled out on his bed, her head turned slightly away from him. "I am so not drinking ever again," Caroline groaned, looking up to the ceiling.

Klaus chuckled, sitting at his desk to continue his artwork. He liked to draw in order to keep himself distracted, especially distracted from Caroline who constantly talked. "What's it like owning your own mansion?" she asked.

"Very lovely," he responded, not taking her question into consideration. She sat up from the bed.

"Lovely?" she asked surprised, "Is that it?" Klaus nodded, not bothering to turn around to acknowledge her. He sat there for a second drawing in the individual lines of his picture, when he heard the rustle of papers. He peered around, only to find Caroline picking up his journal.

_My…_

_My journal!_ He started to panic.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, shoving himself to his feet, "You can't read that!"

"Woah, chill out," she replied, holding up a hand to fend him off, "I'm not trying to read it. I just wanted a few pieces of paper."

She opened up the journal to the back page and tore out a couple of papers. They were blank. "See?" she asked, waving the papers in front of his nose, "Just a couple papers."

"Oh…" Klaus responded, "Good then. I'd hate for any personal information to be revealed." Klaus patted the now closed journal as it lay innocently on the beside table.

"Yeah, I know," she muttered irritably. Something in the way Caroline held herself at that moment made him feel almost ashamed. She darted a glance at him out the corner of her eye, then sighed. Klaus didn't really have anything to say after that, so he retreated back to his desk. Caroline jumped off the bed and snagged one of his pencils, putting it to the papers she had taken from his notebook. She folded her legs on the bed, and leaned on one of his books.

She was drawing, wide flowing strokes across the page. Klaus thought the process was fascinating.

After a few minutes, Klaus heard Caroline scribble out something roughly, and scrunch up the piece of paper.

"How do you draw so good?" she asked.

Klaus smiled as he sat at his desk, "Practice," he advised, "One-thousand years practice to be exact."

"Oh," she replied simply, looking down at her sad excuse for a drawing. She sighed bored.

"Can you come and get a drink with me?" Klaus raised his eyebrows at her, turning away from his drawing.

"By drink do you mean, non-alcoholic? Because I think you've had enough," he stated.

"Yes, yes I know. I just don't want to go home just yet." Klaus stood up and walked towards her smirking.

"Is Miss Caroline Forbes asking me out on a date?" Klaus couldn't help but smile as he watched the horror fill up Caroline's face.

"No! I just don't want to go alone." Caroline couldn't believe he just said that.

"If you insist then."

Caroline exited Klaus' car in a new change of clothes she managed to pick up from her house. She didn't want to enter the grill wearing a ball gown. Not that she didn't like attention, she just didn't feel like having lots of eyes on her tonight.

Klaus led Caroline towards the Grill, and entered through the doors. It was quiet at this time of night thankfully. There were always a few drunks lingering around the bar, but the Grill was always a pleasant place to be during the night time.

They made their seat in one of the booths, Caroline sitting on the opposite side of Klaus. She eagerly grabbed the menu and flicked through the pages, taking her time to decide what to eat. She was hungry, but she was still fussy.

"Mmmm, chocolate pudding sounds nice," she suggested, eyeing Klaus cheekily over the menu.

He sighed, "I'll pay." Caroline slightly whispered a 'yes!' in triumph, as Klaus got up to go order something at the bar. She waited patiently, tapping her fingers on the table.

Caroline looked over to one of the other booths and frowned. Kol was sitting at a table with Mrs. Lockwood, having what looked like a casual conversation. That was strange. Normally he wouldn't waste his time with such trivial things.

Carol laughed loudly at something Kol said, hitting him playfully across his hands that laid on top of the table. Caroline couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. They were actually having fun, and all Caroline did was treat him like crap.

She slammed her head against the table in frustration, burying her face into her arms. Now, wasn't the time to think about Kol.

OOO

"So what exactly is your problem with vampires?" Kol asked Carol a question that made her smile quickly fade away from her face. She placed her cup of coffee down onto the table, and crossed her legs one over the other.

"They kill people," she responded simply, "and have no remorse or regret over it, and…I've hated them for almost my whole life…I grew up hating them." Kol narrowed his eyes towards Carol, thinking about what to say next.

"And what about me?" Kol asked, "Do you _hate _me? I'd be disappointed if you did…we get along so well." She chirped a laugh, shaking her head.

"Well…" she drew out, tapping her chin as though she was putting forth some major thought. "I suppose I don't _hate _you."

Kol leaned back, clasping his hands behind his head. "Is it my charm?" He asked smirking. Carol looked at the table smiling, avoiding Kol's eye contact. He had a tendency to give an intimidating stare whenever he wants answers. "Is it my good looks, my…elegance?"

She sighed, leaning forward to place her hands on the table. "You're lucky I like you."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, really?" he asked in a strange tone. He also leant forward on the table.

She shrugged, feeling slightly self conscious at the way he studied her. She turned her attention away from him with a small "Mmmm." He watched her.

Carol glanced around the Grill. She paid particular attention to Caroline sitting at the booth a few places down. Caroline immediately looked away when she made eye contact with her. "Is that Caroline?" she asked, motioning behind Kol.

He turned around, and noticed her stare at him. He gave her a small smirk, lifting his glass of scotch up at her. She looked away immediately as he did so, lowering her head further down onto the table. Carol frowned and stood up. "I'd better go," she finally said. "It's getting late."

Kol stood up with her as she went to grab her bag. "But we were just getting started," Kol said innocently. She merely smiled and went to kiss his cheek. Kol happily obliged, and greeted her goodbye. He sat back down in his booth, a bit disappointed how the evening turned out. He was hoping for a bit of fun.

He noticed Klaus walk away from the bar with two drinks in his hand and head towards Caroline's table. Kol smirked. Maybe the fun wasn't over just yet.

OOO

Caroline watched closely as Carol kissed Kol onto the cheek. The way she smiled towards him was revolting. She was probably at least 20 years older in human years. Caroline shook her head. Who she kidding? It wasn't like she was jealous…was she?

Klaus walked over towards her and placed the drinks onto the table. He ordered her a hot chocolate, which was sweet she thought. "Where's my pudding?" Klaus gave her a not amused look.

"You have to wait for it," he demanded, placing the extra coins into his wallet. He placed it inside his back pocket and went to take a sip out of his hot chocolate.

"Well well well, fancy meeting you two love birds here." Caroline looked up to see Kol's smug face. He sat down next to Caroline, pushing her over a few inches. She rolled her eyes, having to move over for him. "I noticed you staring at me Caroline," he started, smiling towards both Klaus and Caroline. "Bit jealous of my date are we?"

Caroline looked at him in horror, "No! I…was just curious," she muttered offhandedly, taking a small sip from her drink. Klaus looked in between them both, sipping from his straw that went into his hot chocolate.

"Uh-huh, maybe a bit too curious, I think." Caroline turned fully around to face him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked angrily, thinking back to the journal.

"I think you know what I mean," he responded, narrowing his eyes at her while smiling. Caroline got up from her seat, tossing her bag roughly over her shoulder.

"I can't put up with this," she said fed up. She looked towards Klaus who was still sipping from his hot chocolate. "Thankyou for the drink."

"Hey, but what about the chocolate pudding I ordered!" he complained, finally speaking up.

"I hope you both enjoy it," she responded, turning around to walk away from the two originals. Klaus sighed, continuing to his drink.

"Have you sealed the deal yet?" Kol asked, lacing his hands together. Klaus took the straw out of his mouth.

"Not yet if that's what your worried about," Klaus said. He shivered at the thought of kissing her with that spew smelling breath. "She wasn't in her right mind tonight."

Kol raised his eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"She had a few too many," Klaus responded, downing the rest of his drink.

Kol chuckled, remembering their little argument together. He had been angry at the time, but it was quickly overcome by his devious personality. He had something he could use against her now.

_Previously…_

_"You know exactly what I mean?" _

_Caroline looked towards Kol worried. She had meant to return the journal to it's rightful place after reading it, but she had been so distracted with everything. _

_"Could you perhaps be a little more specific?" she asked casually, still trying to play the dumb card. Kol impatiently rolled his eyes and went to grab her arm. He roughly pulled her away from the crowd, dragging her outside onto the balcony. She gasped at the tightness of his hold, attempting to pull away from him._

_"Hey, let go of me!" she demanded, wrenching her arm away from him. Before turning to face Caroline, he pierced his lips together in anger, making sure not to clench his teeth too tightly. Caroline swallowed, taking a seat on the bench. He looked genuinely disturbed that she read his journal, and suddenly, wanted to assure him that it wasn't really that big of a deal. _

_"Look, I'm sorry I read your journal," she apologised, looking down into the palm of her hand. She avoided his gaze as he turned to stare at her. _

_"How stupid did you think I was?" he asked her, not bothering to sugar coat it._

_He turned to pace the floor, when he felt her hand clasp his wrist, bringing him to a halt. "I was going to return it," she forced herself to say around the sudden tightness in her throat. "I was curious as to why you and Klaus were acting the way you were, and when I found your journal, I could help myself…I just took it."_

_"Did you find anything interesting?" Kol asked, managing to give her a small grin. She still held onto his wrist, not realising how tightly she was holding onto him. _

_"Yes," she responded, looking down towards the ground. "The bet between you and Klaus answered some questions."_

_"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. How long were you just going to string us both along?" he asked with a slightly annoyed tone._

_Caroline shook her head, letting his arm loose. She could hear his tone of voice, and it made her stomach drop. Her eyes darted away from his face, finding herself blushing at the sheer amount of eye contact he was giving. "I can't talk about it." She hid her face from his gaze and walked off quickly away from him, running back inside. She staggered a little from the alcohol still left in her system, not looking where she was going... _

"Do I yell too often?" Klaus asked, frowning.

Klaus interrupted Kol's sudden flashback to earlier, asking him a very interesting question. Kol merely put down his drink and smiled towards his brother.

"Yeah, you do a bit," he admitted. He looked back at him with a troubled expression.

"Am I really that bad?" Klaus asked.

Kol raised his eyebrows at his brother. "No," he forced himself to say. "It's mainly my doing. I enjoy rivalling you up…it keeps me entertained."

Klaus chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah…but then again, it would never be the same if you weren't causing mischief…I think that's why I daggered you."

The puddings finally came over towards their table, and placed in front of them. Kol's face beamed at the smell of the hot chocolate fudge, poured on top of the chocolate chip filled pudding.

OOO

Caroline groaned as she held her school bag over her shoulders. It was Monday, the worst day of the week. She had to put up with double Biology of Klaus, pretty much all day with Kol, and cheerleading practice after school, so an hour and a half with Rebekah. What a lovely day…

She walked towards the school when she spotted Kol talking to a bunch of girls in very revealing cheerleading costumes. Caroline rolled her eyes as she heard them giggle like such twelve year olds. Was he trying to torment her? And here she was dressed in trackies and a hoddie. Caroline felt severely underdressed; even though the cheerleaders were the ones wearing short skirts. Caroline didn't bother much with those uniforms, too uncomfortable.

Walking past Kol, Caroline rolled her eyes again, sighing in deep frustration. This day just keeps getting better and better. Once she reached her locker, Caroline roughly placed her books inside her locker.

"Wow, such a low blow Caroline." She came face to face with Amber of all people. Caroline looked to the girl in annoyance.

"What is?" she asked, continuing to gather her books for first period.

"Stealing Kol's journal." Caroline looked to Amber in surprise.

"What?! How did you know about that?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is what you did to that poor innocent man. How'd you think he feels about it?"

Caroline shook her head sighing. "Look just drop it Amber."

"Fine, but hear this, I'm seriously considering revoking our friendship." Amber flicked her hair out of her face, and marched off away from Caroline.

"Yeah, like I'd care," Caroline mumbled to herself. She went to close her locker, but was stopped by Kol.

"So…can I have it back?" Kol asked, folding his arms across his chest while leaning against the lockers. Caroline looked at Kol in anticipation.

"Have what back?" she asked.

"_My _journal," he replied, giving her a smirk with those dark eyes she loved and hated at the same time.

"You know what, fine…have it." She grabbed it from her locker, and held it out to him. When he reached out to take it, his fingers brushed hers, lingering gently before pulling it back again. It took Caroline a moment to find her tongue. "Happy now?"

She straightened herself and went to open her mouth, "And did you have to tell people. I've got Amber all bitchy towards me."

Kol flicked through his journal and patted it shut. "Not my problem is it?" he responded harshly, walking off away from Caroline to place his arm around two cheerleader girls. They giggled when he did so. Caroline groaned in irritation, slamming the door to her locker shut. She heard Kol laugh abnormally loud.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trying to make me jealous," Caroline mumbled to herself. She frowned as she made her way down the hallway. She spotted Klaus inside her allocated classroom. Biology first up. She groaned inwardly.

If only her life wasn't so miserable.

**A/N: **Man…I meant for there to be more fluff, but it just didn't work that way. But anyway, I hope you liked the long chapter. It was to make up for my lateness last time. Exams are coming up, and it's been full on for me, so I apologise again. But this chapter is on time (sort of, maybe a day later) so I hope you like it ;)

**Here are last week's poll results:**

Get angry and get even - 31 percent

Tease Caroline about it – 25 percent

Have a heart to heart with Caroline - 18 percent

Confront Caroline about it - 12 percent

Tell Klaus about it - 12 percent

Do nothing - 0 percent

Okay…so got vote in the next poll! And review! I love the reviews.

Thanks for reading! I'll do another emotions poll, those are fun ;)

**What emotions should arise next chapter?**


	13. Chapter 13 I Make the Rules

**I Make the Rules**

"No! That doesn't go there!" Caroline sighed in irritation at her lab partner, as he placed the water over the Bunsen burner. "You boil the water after you've mashed the liver and sand together…let me do it!" Instead of letting her partner handle the water like they had agreed, she had to do it herself. She shuffled over to where the water had been carelessly placed by Jake over here, and grabbed it to throw it down the sink.

He eyed her with a scowl. "Does it really make that much of a difference?" She looked at the beaker carefully, measuring the exact amount of water they'd need for later.

"Yes, of course it does. I can't have us doing the experiment wrong! Can you start cleaning up for me?" Caroline wasn't in a very good mood, and the last thing she wanted was working with another person. If she wanted something done, she'd do it herself.

Jake looked pointedly at the bench. The clean bench. "Sorry to break it to you, but there isn't anything I can-"

"There _will _be in a little bit once I've mixed the liver and sand together." She said with a huff, lifting the bowl up to finish her previous job. They had to be mixed just right. Not too mushy, but not too under done.

Jake rolled his eyes, not impressed by Caroline's mood today. He stood back and folded his arms, watching as Caroline did most of the work.

Caroline looked up for a split second and noticed Kol. She immediately grimaced in fury. He seemed rather engaging with his lab partner. A beautiful blonde cheerleader lab partner. _Is cheerleader his speciality? _Caroline sarcastically asked herself.

Kol teasingly spraying a bit of water on the cheerleader's head using the dropper. She squealed, but started laughing, playfully bumping him on the shoulder.

"Here, why don't you let me do that while you-" Jake started, but she cut him off with an angry glance. He backed up and put his hands in the air in defeat. "Fine, fine," he surrendered.

"Is something wrong Caroline?" She looked up to see Klaus standing by their bench, a stern look on his face.

"Yes actually there is," Jake cut in before she could open her mouth. "She's not letting me do anything! Why should I even bother doing this experiment?"

"Why should I even bother teaching you?" Klaus responded, receiving a confused look from Jake. "But I still do it, don't I?

Klaus turned to Caroline. She merely rolled her eyes and kept working.

"Caroline, a word," Klaus demanded, but she gave him a glare and ignored his request. "Now!"

"Fine," she obliged, sighing heavily. She put down the mixing bowl onto the bench, following Klaus outside the room while Jake continued the experiment.

Klaus lead her outside and turned around to face her sternly. She folded her arms across her chest, not bothering to look at Klaus while he spoke. "What exactly is your problem today?" Caroline shrugged her shoulders, not at all phased by the question. She rudely avoided his eye contact, not responding to him. "Look at me when I'm talking!" Klaus demanded angrily.

She sighed again, finally looking Klaus in the eye, although her expression wasn't pleasant to look at. He took a deep breath to control his anger. "Now…tell me, what happened?" Klaus asked again, this time a little calmer than before.

She didn't respond.

"Is it my brother?"

She didn't respond.

"Did he do something?"

She still didn't respond. Klaus grit his teeth running a hand down his face. "If you don't answer me, I will do something I'll regret…"

"…or not regret," he added. Caroline was about to open her mouth to speak, but she suddenly flinched to the sound of laughter, 'Kol's' laughter, coming from inside the classroom, and immediately silenced. Klaus sighed heavily, trying hard not to lose his temper. He stood at the doorway, and looked at Kol angrily who had migrated across the room to another set of girls.

"Kol!" he shouted, pointing at his brother. "Sit back in your seat, and shut up." Klaus turned back towards Caroline.

"Now, where were we love?" Klaus resumed. "Ah yes, you were telling me what the bloody hell is going on?"

"I told you already, nothing!" Caroline shouted.

"Then why exactly are you suddenly smitten with my dear brother?"

Caroline's eyes widened at his comment, "What?! No I'm not. On what planet made you think that?"

Klaus tried to refrain from losing his temper at Caroline's attempt to play dumb. He was slightly offended she thought he'd fall for it. "Don't play dumb with me darling."

She scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You know what; I don't have to put up with this," Caroline pointed out, "I'm going back inside." She moved to enter the classroom, but Klaus roughly grabbed her arm, moving vampire speed to push her up against the lockers on the other side of the hallway. She yelled out in pain, wriggling underneath his grip.

"Whatever you've been doing to my dear brother, stop it!" Klaus shouted, roughly pinning Caroline against the hard surface of the lockers. "I've had to clean up several bodies this past day that he left lying around my house. Now…I don't know what has gotten into him, but I have a rather odd feeling that it's got something to do with you."

Caroline glared at Klaus as he spoke harsh words towards her.

"Be a good girl and fix it!" She suddenly threw Klaus off of her, roughly pushing him onto the floor halfway across the hallway.

"_Don't_ tell me what to do ever again." Klaus sat on the floor in a moment of shock, but it quickly subsided when stood up dusting his pants and smirking towards the angry blonde vampire.

"My my, you've got fire. No one has ever dared gone against my-."

Caroline cut off Klaus suddenly which angered him, "-well I'll just have to change that." Klaus walked closer towards her.

"You'd better be careful with me…" Caroline looked worried briefly, but she managed to keep a brave face.

"I want you to leave me alone!" she demanded, losing her temper.

"And I want a pony. Sometimes you just don't get what you want."

Caroline held her hands out to her sides. "So what? Can't I ever get something I _want_ once in a while?" she asked.

Klaus looked to be deep in thought, but it only lasted a mere second before he responded. "No."

She sighed, "I hate you."

He pouted, "Don't be like that Caroline," he spoke sarcastically, knowing she didn't actually mean it.

"I'm leaving." Klaus laughed at Caroline's defeat, as she walked down the hallway.

"That's a lunch time for leaving class!" he called after her, smirking.

"I hope you get run over by a car!" she shouted turning around while walking backwards. Klaus shook his head. _Stubborn girl, _he thought. He hoped she didn't think he was weak for not having snapped her neck already. Most people who treated him that way would have, but Klaus was more lenient with Caroline.

The bell rang suddenly. Klaus cursed to himself, he forgot about the class. He entered the doorway and was greeted with a hoard of students piling out of the room to lunch. He pushed past grabbing Kol's arm as he did and pushing him roughly back inside the classroom.

Klaus closed the door, running a hand down his face in anger. He turned to Kol who was casually folding his arms while leaning against one of the desks. He regarded him for a long moment. Kol had a cocky expression written on his face.

"Is there something you want to say?" Kol asked innocently, tilting his head slightly.

"You're going to explain to me, why you've left a trail of school students around my house." Kol chuckled, shifting his position.

"Can't I have a bit of fun?" Kol pouted.

"It's sloppy, and reckless. I've had to compel too many people _not_ to arouse too much suspicion." Kol stayed quiet for a few moments, removing the smirk that was on his face. Klaus stayed silent waiting for a response, as Kol had evidently decided to amuse himself by studying every facial feature Klaus possessed.

That made for a rather strange couple of minutes of silence, until Kol decided to break it. "What makes you think _you're_ so superior giving _me _orders?" he finally spoke, "Your not father, nor will you ever be."

"I have to make sure you don't make a mess of everything," Klaus responded, narrowing his eyes at Kol.

Kol bit his lip in anticipation; he stood up from his leaning position, not making eye contact at all with Klaus. He suddenly moved with vampire speed, pushing Klaus roughly onto the desk, taking a hold of his shirt and holding him down.

"_Don't…_tell me what to do. I make my own rules," Kol shouted angrily, his face a mere inches away from Klaus.

He simply laughed under Kol's rough grip. Didn't he already have this conversation with Caroline a few minutes ago? "Looks like I've upset someone. Should I got get Caroline to make him feel better."

Kol slammed Klaus into the table once more, "Don't play with me Nik."

"But I thought you liked games." Klaus glanced down at his crinkled shirt which Kol still held captive.

"To an extent," Kol responded. Klaus gazed back up at Kol, who looked very riled up. He didn't know a simple argument such as this could make him so angry.

"That doesn't sound like you. I think Caroline has had quite the effect on you this past week," Klaus pointed out, a smirk still planted firmly on his face.

Kol chuckled at Klaus' response, before quickly snapping his neck and leaving his lifeless body draped over the table.

OOO

"So are you coming tonight?" Elena asked, placing her tray of food onto the cafeteria's table, and sitting opposite a depressed Caroline who was toying her food with a fork. She looked up, her chin lazily leaning into her hand.

"What's tonight?" she asked, clearly uninterested.

"The bonfire," Elena stated, "don't tell me you forgot?" Caroline groaned, her chin slipping from her hand causing her head to jerk up.

"I completely forgot," she responded, sliding her tray to the side, giving the food a look of disgust. Normally she'd be eating a lot more, that was what being a vampire came with, but today she wasn't feeling up to it; the originals being the prime cause. She wasn't sure why she was so affected by them, and Kol's sudden disregard in her.

"Well _un_-forget, because your coming with me whether you like or not," Elena demanded. "You're the one who was trying to convince me to go remember?"

Caroline snuffed. "That was then. Cheerleading doesn't seem as interesting anymore. And do we really have to celebrate _before_ the grand final? Shouldn't we be celebrating _after_, when we win?"

"It's tradition," Elena responded, shrugging her shoulders. "We always organise a bonfire before the final to get people motivated."

"Since when did you know so much about tradition?" Caroline asked, scoffing slightly at her friend.

"Since Stefan broke it off with me," Elena quickly answered, taking a small sip from her milkshake. "Everything has been a little dull for me."

"Uh-huh, and is that why the Demon Salvatore has been _longing_ for your friendship; _yearning_ for your love!" Caroline stated dramatically, placing a hand over her heart.

"Shut up! His not that bad." Elena smirked playfully as Caroline raised her eyebrows at her.

"Right…I thought you just said everything was dull for you."

"Next topic," Elena quickly spoke, wanting to end that conversation. "So what's up with you and…" Elena trailed off, hinting at something. Caroline looked confused.

"And?" Caroline asked, waiting for her to finish the sentence.

"You know…Klaus and Kol," she whispered.

"Shhh! They might hear you!" she silenced.

"Hear what? That you enjoy their obsession over you," Elena observed, smirking wildly.

"I do not! And their not obsessed with me; plus, I'm with Tyler remember?"

Elena shook her head giggling, "And you can't have a little fun while his gone?"

"Elena!" Caroline scoffed, disbelieving. "You are the worst." She giggled in response. Caroline simply sighed at her friend's push on the subject.

OOO

"One and two and three and four!" Caroline shouted out the rhythm for her cheerleading team to stay in time. They had to do the routine in perfect rhythm in order to stay in time with one another, and perform each move to their best ability.

Kol sat by the sidelines, Caroline very unaware of his presence. He placed himself on one of the benches, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together. He watched their routine quite intently. It intrigued him how most of the cheerleaders that were humans, had enough energy to be doing such a physical routine in the scorching sunlight. _Kol_ couldn't even be bothered with it.

"Yeah, that's it!" Caroline cheered, clapping as they did their moves. Klaus climbed over the bench to sit down next to Kol. He noticed who Kol was watching and looked to his brother frowning. Kol however ignored him, his eyes fixed on Caroline.

"I'd like to congratulate you," Klaus started, resulting in a puzzled look from Kol.

"For what exactly?" Kol asked impatiently, anger resonating through his voice.

"It's not every day I'm caught off guard." Kol rolled his eyes sighing heavily, and turning back to his previous endeavour, ignoring his hybrid brother. "No, I'm being serious. I was rather flabbergasted waking up to the principal herself, standing over me after _you_ snapped my neck."

That got Kol's attention. "I'm sure it was quite the mystery of how you came back to life."

"On the contrary, she thought I was passed out drunk sprawled over the teacher's desk," Klaus explained further, smiling.

Kol laughed, "Now I see why you're congratulating me."

"That's not the best part, according to her I'm, and I quote, 'free to pursue a wholeness unimpeded by your continued employment here. I give you the opportunity to achieve further success elsewhere.'" Klaus could hear laughter emanating from Kol, something he hadn't heard for a while. He frowned though; he wasn't the one who enjoyed being laughed at.

"Stop it, or I'll rip out your tongue." Kol recovered from his fit of laughter soon enough.

"Relax brother, can't I laugh at your expense?"

"No. Me getting fired isn't a laughing matter, I actually enjoyed it for a short period of time. But I, however, am free to laugh at your expense," Klaus responded smirking. Kol's smile diminished, giving him a perplexed look. Klaus merely smiled back at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, knowing there was always something behind everything that Klaus would say.

"Your new found affection in Caroline," he stated.

Kol narrowed his eyes, furrowing his brows in the process. "Nonsense. I have no affection," Kol revealed.

"This past week has said otherwise." Klaus pattered him on the back, giving him a friendly smile. "Just don't wait too long, you're not the only one that fancies her."

Klaus rose from the seat, whistling an arbitrary tune as he walked off. Kol frowned at the older vampire, wondering what was up with Klaus.

**A/N: **I'm so sorry about the late update, I've had year 12 exams and I'm stuck doing non-stop study. I won't be able to update until the 17th of November, because that's when my exams end. And I hope this isn't a weak chapter, because I wrote it when I was half asleep. Please be patient, I will be updating, you can be sure of that. I never like to give up on a story. Thanks for sticking with me, and reviewing.

**Here are the last poll results:**

Jealousy (Caroline) - 30 percent

Amusement (Kol) – 30 percent

Curiosity (Klaus) - 23 percent

Anger (Elijah) - 7 percent

Bitterness (Elena) - 7 percent

Guilt (Rebekah) - 0 percent

There will be more amusement for Kol next chapter since it was a draw and I wanna try and include Elijah more into the story, just because I love him J Thanks for reading and reviewing, here is the next poll!

**What should go wrong next chapter?**


	14. Chapter 14 Drinking Solves Nothing

**Drinking Solves Nothing**

Caroline nearly ran into Bonnie as she exited the school building late in the afternoon. Bonnie noticed she looked really tired and withdrawn. She didn't even see Bonnie as she exited the school building. Her face was drained and her eyes nearly as red as a tomato.

"Hey Caroline," she greeted her. She looked up at Bonnie with bleary, unfocused eyes.

"Oh, hey Bonnie," she replied with a tired tone. "Good morning."

"Um…are you okay?" she asked, reaching out a hand to her without thinking. "You look beat."

She smiled back at her witchy friend. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You positive? Because I'm pretty sure you just greeted me with 'Good morning' and it's the middle of the afternoon," Bonnie explained. "Did you even sleep at all last night?"

"No…not really. Even having a good place to sleep doesn't help much when you don't use it… you know?" Bonnie grabbed on to Caroline's hand, and hooked her arm around hers. They started casually walking across the car park towards Caroline's car. "And, my day has been just awful."

"Yeah, what's been up with you lately?" Bonnie asked, "I've hardly even seen you."

"I'll give you a lift back to my place, and tell you everything."

OOO

Caroline inspected her reflection thoroughly, leaning over the bathroom sink to apply a thin coat of blush on her cheeks. Her gaze moved to her hair. The curls she once thought of as soft and beautiful were limp and frizzing. Sighing heavily, she tried smoothing out the knots but it wasn't very effective. How could this happen to her? Her hair was absolutely lifeless, and had no volume.

Her eyes that were painted smouldering looked dull and sunken. Finally she looked to her lips. The shade of her lipstick looked ridiculous against her pale skin. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment and then opened them again. No improvement. Taking a step back, she combed her finger through her lifeless curls and quickly twisted it up into a loose bun.

She looked better with it pulled back she decided and then vowed not to look at her reflection again.

She, honest to God, didn't want to attend the bonfire tonight, but her commitment to her cheerleading squad took precedence. At least she wouldn't be alone. Elena and Bonnie, her two best friends, would be attending also. They were the only two people that had remained by her side, after her transitioning into a vampire. Bonnie at first was a bit sceptical, but after she pulled through, it was alright.

Matt had ceased to be friends with her, her mother had tried to kill her, and her father killed himself. And then there was Tyler…where was he now? He didn't return any of her messages, calls, or voicemail. So, she was grateful for her friends.

There was a light tap at the door of the bathroom that doubled as a dressing room and makeup studio. Caroline fisted a bundle of tissues to blot at the remnants of colour that stained her lips. "Come in," she called, her voice muffled behind the tissues.

Bonnie poked her head from behind the door, her hair perfectly sculpted with flowing locks of dark brown curls. Her olive green eyes flickered down the length of Caroline's body before she scowled. "Will you stop doing that," she said at her fussing. "You look nice."

Caroline dropped the ball of tissues to the trashcan under the sink, and licked her lips, tasting the papery remnants that now coloured them like powdered sugar. She frowned. "I look like Bigfoot compared to you."

"Oh stop that nonsense. If I've taught you anything, you're much too short to resemble Bigfoot," Bonnie reassured. Caroline smiled as Bonnie's attempt at comfort. "Plus, I don't have two original's pining over me."

"That's not fair," Caroline pointed out frowning. "I didn't tell you everything just so you could tease me about it."

Bonnie smiled, "You'll be fine," she assured, already knowing how nervous her friend was about tonight. "How could you even possibly be remotely interested in them anyway?"

Caroline looked away from Bonnie, guilt clearly shown in her expression. Bonnie however didn't notice. "Yeah," Caroline responded with, knowing it was a complete lie. Caroline had to admit she was attracted to the both of them. But she was awfully ashamed to admit it. Bonnie would definitely not approved of her new found interest, but Caroline wasn't planning on telling her.

"C'mon, I think I just heard Elena arrive downstairs," Bonnie pointed out, pulling her friend out of the bathroom door.

"Yeah, of course," Caroline replied.

OOO

"You're both going tonight?!"

Klaus laughed quietly at the expression on Rebekah's face as she stood in the middle of the living room hands placed firmly on her hips. It couldn't be helped; his sister looked so annoyed and shocked all at the same time. He looked up from his drawing and turned to Kol slumped on the couch who also looked just as amused as him.

"Yes," he replied with a smile, smirking back at Rebekah. She stared at them waiting for an explanation, but apparently it wasn't worth their time.

"Why exactly must you go?!" she complained further. "It's not like you support football!

"Well, we have to make sure our baby sister is on her best behaviour," Kol explained, his expression showing pure cheekiness. "And it's out job to look after you. A pretty girl such as yourself shouldn't be all alone at night."

Rebekah scoffed, "Pretty girl?"

"Oh…I'm sorry, I meant pretty _whore_," Kol replied, receiving an irritated looked from his younger sister.

Rebekah looked at Klaus angrily, as if wanting him to say something. "Don't look at me sweetheart; I'm not the one to take sides."

She placed her hands on her hips, "Even after everything I've done for you, you still refuse to be the bigger man and stand up for me."

"Your point?"

Rebekah looked taken aback, sticking her tongue out angrily in spite of his remark. "I hope you both burn in that bonfire tonight."

Klaus chuckled, and watched as she turned and stormed out of the room, muttering something under her breath. A few moments later he flinched to the sound of the room door slamming shut.

Kol then turned to stare at Klaus while he continued drawing. Klaus ignored the poorly hidden smug expression on his brother's face; he knew Kol was up to no good whenever he displayed that same expression.

He sighed deeply dropping his drawing onto his lap when Kol didn't look away.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Kol shrugged, leaning his head back, closing his eyes and pretending to fall asleep. Klaus raised his eyebrows, returning to his previous endeavour.

Kol opened one eye to stare back at Klaus, but as soon as Klaus looked up again, Kol closed it immediately, shuffling in his spot on the couch.

"If there's something you want to say, say it," Klaus demanded impatiently, returning back to his drawing.

Kol lifted his head up at his brother, sighing in defeat. "I don't get it, how have I shown that I'm the least bit interested in Caroline?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Not this again, will you just drop it."

"I'm just curious, that's all," Kol stated innocently, acting like he didn't care, which really he did.

"That's all," Klaus repeated, looking at him disbelievingly. Kol nodded in response. "I know you're my brother, but I'm having a hard time believing what comes out of your mouth."

Kol lowered his shoulders in frustration, "I already said 'I'm not attracted to Caroline' a billion times already, what more can I say?"

"Like I said, I'm having a hard time believing what nonsense comes out of that mouth." Kol rose from the couch placing his fingers over the bridge of his nose, trying to think of something to say that would convince Klaus he was telling the truth.

"Hey, I haven't even spoken to her in over a day," Kol started pacing the room, "_If_ I was attracted to her,_ IF! _Which means I'm not…wouldn't I be chatting her up every chance I get?"

Klaus chuckled at how easy his brother was rivalled up. This was actually more entertaining than he originally hoped. "Look, I know for a fact when you're…fascinated…by someone, you like to make them remember just how irresistible you are..."

Kol nodded his head in satisfaction, "I don't have to make them remember, but go on."

"…by making them jealous." Kol looked at him confused. "Annnndd…Caroline might have told me about everything you wrote in your journal," Klaus added really fast, standing up suddenly and walking over to the alcohol and ignoring the surprised look on Kol's face. He might as well enjoy his last bit of whiskey before he would actually kill him this time.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me," Klaus challenged, pouring his drink into a glass, "lover boy," he taunted.

Klaus couldn't help milking the situation; it was too damn amusing; although he was a bit disappointed when he heard the slam of the front door, signalling Kol's dramatic exit. He had probably left to blow off steam. Maybe Klaus had been a bit forward on him. Even though Klaus was awfully lucky not having to deal with Kols rage, he wanted a little bit of a confrontation. He shrugged his shoulders taking a sip of his drink, deciding he was better off with a little alcohol in his system before going tonight.

OOO

Kol sighed as he watched the chaos unfold around him. Drunken girls were just not appealing to him. They were too easy, and it just ruined the challenge for Kol.

Even though all he wanted was to completely drain someone out of pure anger towards Klaus, he had some standards. And these types of drunken girls didn't even come close to his standards.

There were different kinds of drunk that Kol had uncovered.

The first one was a party girl drunk. Kol tilted his head to the side to look at a group of girls jumping up and down together to the rhythm of the music; they had some very bouncy…ahem'. Kol wondered if swinging them around like that hurt, they were attached to their chest after all.

He shook his head, looking at his drink in his hand, intrigued by the effect it had on him. A loud keening cry captured his attention in the other direction. It was a cheerleader who was, unfortunately, the sad drunk. Sad drunks were just so very…unsanitary. He had dealt with them plenty of times.

They would cry all over him, getting spittle and liquor all over his sleeves. Kol shuddered at the thought of it. It was rather unattractive seeing one cry over such as insignificant matter. Plus, Kol hated dealing with the dry cleaning bill.

Kol silently cursed to himself when he saw Amber flutter over towards him, looking just as bored as he was. Amber draped herself over him, her lace mini falling like a cheap drape. "Amber, what a pleasant surprise," he greeted forcefully.

"I've ne'er had the guts to say dis', but…you gotta cute _butt_," Amber so politely complimented. Kol however, wasn't amused at all. "It's _soooo round_," Amber giggled hysterically, making circle motions with her fingers, "And little! A cute, little, round _butt_!"

She placed her head on his shoulders, closing her eyes while sighing heavily in bewilderment, as if dreaming about his…butt.

This was rather embarrassing.

For some reason, he pictured Amber as a sad drunk, she seemed to have all those pent up jealous emotions waiting to burst out…especially over him. Preferably into tears, he supposed. She however, seemed to be a needy drunk.

Kol grabbed her arm and pulled it off of him with great difficultly…her hold on him was rather… 'strong.'

"I would strongly advise you to avoid touching me at this period of time dear," Kol warned, aware of the alcoholic stench reeking from her breath. He crinkled his nose slightly disgusted at the smell.

Amber simply grew miserable and looked to be on the verge of crying. "No! Don't. Even. Think. About…" Her emotions started to spill out through the tears pouring down her face…a whining sound emanating through her mouth.

"For the love of…" Kol silently cursed; apparently she was a sad drunk as well. Oh how he loathed sad drunks.

"So what, you don't like me anymore?! Am I just some cheap whore you like to fool around with!" Amber shouted through the whaling and sniffling.

"Maybe when you sober up, I can actually look at you without feeling nauseous," Kol suggested angrily, although her crying seemed to stop.

"Really?" Amber looked up at Kol with red watery eyes. "That's great!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Maybe I'll surprise you at school tomorrow," she whispered, appearing to be seductive. She patted him hard on the butt before she walked away giggling.

Kol's stood staring straight ahead, shocked at her blatant goodbye. Sometimes he wished his hold on women wasn't so strong…it's a curse.

"You don't seem to be having much fun," Klaus pointed out so obviously. Kol smirked at his brother approaching him with a red cup in hand. "I don't pity you strangely, it's actually quite amusing."

"Thankyou for you input mate, I can really tell you're jealous of my natural charm."

"I don't get jealous Kol," Klaus started, "I get even."

Kol raised his eyebrows at his brother, "And there's your first problem. You're too vindictive. It repels too many women. And shouldn't I be the one getting even with you. You and Caroline did go behind my back and gossiped like two bickering women."

"We'll see," Klaus roused, gesturing to the newcomer of the party. Their little blonde vampire Barbie had arrived, standing between two easily attractive young women. As soon as Kol saw her, he couldn't help his immediate attraction. Klaus had been right.

"Perfect," Kol grumbled loudly, "I need a drink."

OOO

There was a huge screech follow by a big bang as the light's danced in the sky before seemingly falling to earth. The school had gathered near the swimming hole to celebrate the upcoming football finale of the season. That meant there were fireworks and a bonfire to celebrate, complete with large gallons of petrol to burn the fire with.

Caroline, Bonnie and Elena arrived at the swimming hole just in time for the lighting of the bonfire. Several people threw buckets of petrol over the firewood. People quickly lighted the matches, tossing it onto the wood. It ignited straight away illuminating the whole area to light.

The aroma of sweat, smoke and alcohol made Bonnie slightly queasy. It looked like the party had started already. The three girls watched in awe at the blazing fire, while everyone cheered and danced drunkenly.

"Urgh, the sight of them makes me sick," Bonnie complained, doing a gagging reflex as a drunken guy ran past them butt-naked.

Caroline scoffed raising her bottle of vodka to the witch and taking a large mouthful of it, "It could be much worse."

"Hey! I thought I took that away from you," Bonnie indicated, looking at the bottle of alcohol she had confiscated from Caroline earlier.

"Well boo-freaking-hoo," Caroline responded, "I stole it back. It's mine anyway."

Bonnie attempted to grab the bottle out of Caroline's hand, but her grip was far too strong for her to compete against. "Give. Me. That," she demanded, struggling way too hard.

Caroline snatched the bottle out of Bonnie's hold. The witch sighed frustrated, turning to Elena.

"This is your fault," Bonnie accused, pointing a finger at Elena.

The doppelganger shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I wanted us to have fun, and to at least make an attempt to be social." Elena patted Bonnie across the back, and draped her arm across her shoulders.

"Elena, Bonnie isn't social," Caroline stated, receiving a death glare from her witchy friend.

"You'd better watch it Care," Bonnie warned, "Or I will aneurysm your ass."

"C'mon guys, we're here to have fun, and that's all we're going to do, no matter how hard it will be," Elena reassured, "we should learn to live a little." Elena looked towards Caroline smiling, Caroline however seemed to be looking elsewhere.

Through the chaotic crowds, she spotted Kol. The bottle dropped from her mouth in a vat of surprise.

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked concerned. She looked to what had Caroline so enthralled by. Kol was pouring himself a drink out of one of the kegs, looking to be a bit impatient at how slow the liquid was pouring out.

Bonnie was more disgusted at Caroline, then the pool of vomit on the ground. "Caroline, please! You have standards!"

"Not tonight, you two go on without me," Caroline suggested to Elena and Bonnie, "I'll meet up with you later." Bonnie grabbed Caroline, pulling her back to face her.

"Caroline, what are you doing?" she asked, knowing perfectly what her blonde friend was about to do.

"I'm living a little," Caroline replied, her face brightening. She removed her arm from Bonnie's grasp, giving her a look that said, 'trust me, I know what I'm doing.' Bonnie however, was sceptic whether Caroline even knew what she was doing. But before the witch could get another word in, Caroline had left already.

The vampire approached the ruggedly handsome original; her heart was pounding against her ribs, as if she'd just run a hundred laps around the whole continent. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but because of the alcohol, her confidence easy overruled her nerves.

Approaching the original, she remained silent. He continued to pour the liquid into his cup, not realising her presence.

Caroline couldn't help but stare. She suddenly realised how ridiculous she felt gaping at him, but she didn't know how to get his attention without being too desperate. She decided to clear her throat awfully loud, alerting Kol to her existence.

He stood up from pouring his drink and looked at her with a forced smirk. "Oh look, its gossip on the devil's radio. Come to see what other degrading information you can extract from me that you can tattle about to my brother."

Caroline just blinked at his very impetuous comment, a little confused. "What?" She asked startled, "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Kol's smirk quickly faded, "You really have to quit being such a dumb bitch all the time, its boring me," Kol responded harshly, earning a hurtful look from Caroline.

All she could do was stand there, looking dumbfounded. She had been called a dumb bitch before, but it wasn't as hurtful then. Caroline suddenly got a wave of anger, and slapped him hard on the face; the sound echoing loudly capturing the attention of the surrounding people.

"I hope it hurts when your mother kills you," Caroline blurted out, her anger mixed with alcohol clouding her judgement.

Kol touched his cheek that had quickly turned red. He turned his head back towards Caroline, his expression completely emotionless.

"What did you say about my mother?" he asked, even though he heard it loud and clear.

Caroline gasped, bringing her hand quickly towards her mouth, realising what she had just said.

**A/N: **I FINALLY managed to update. I honestly had meant to write it earlier, but after getting my crappy ATAR score after exams, I had no motivation whatsoever. Luckily I have my parents otherwise my life would be so screwed. I've got a total change in career now. Anyway, this chapter went in a completely different direction to what I expected. I didn't really follow the poll results; I guess I can add it in the next chapter. So I'll just do a POV poll, because that's easier for me to do.

**Here are the last poll results:**

Caroline makes Klaus and Kol jealous - 64 percent

A fight is erupted between Kol and the football team – 14 percent

Tyler returns and sees Caroline kiss Klaus - 7 percent

Kol embarrasses Caroline - 7 percent

Caroline loses her temper - 7 percent

Klaus snaps Kol's neck - 0 percent

Thanks for reading and reviewing and especially being patient with the story. I love you guys!


	15. Chapter 15 No One Likes Keeping Secrets

**No One Likes Keeping Secrets**

Caroline's spark of anger quickly faded and was replaced with fear, and for a long beat her heart was stuck in her throat. Then she swallowed. "Wait…I didn't mean…" Caroline started, panic rising inside her chest, but was quickly interrupted by Kol.

"-What...didn't mean to _tell_ me?!" Kol snapped, raising his voice even louder. He was ready to break those nosy people's neck that constantly gave them lingering glances. It was none of their business, and Kol wasn't going to start sharing any of his personal life to strangers.

"No...well yes," Caroline hesitated, not knowing how to express her feelings through proper words. Kol looked at her in anticipation, waiting rather impatiently for her to speak,"But...what I mean was…I didn't even know about it until today; until after you drank the wine."

He took a deep breath out, trying desperately to control his anger. "Kindly, cut the bullshit Caroline, you're only saying that to-" Kol stopped mid-sentence. His expression quickly changed from angry to confused. He grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her further away to a more private area. The trees provided cover, and the noise had grown quieter, much more bearable for Kol's sense of hearing.

"-hold on, _after_ I drank the wine?" he asked, stopped at a nearby tree.

Caroline nodded uncertainly, cautious about what to say in case it might provoke him.

"I don't quite follow," Kol queried, his expression completely clueless. Caroline found it impossible to read his emotions. It always went from angry, to playful, to confused, to bouncy all in a span of five minutes.

"All I know, is that Esther used Elena's blood to do the spell…I don't know what type of spell…but it involved all of the originals drinking from the wine." Kol thought for a second. Why would Esther want _all_ of them to drink from the wine? Unless it was another one of her spells. She always liked to make everything so much more dramatic and interesting; it was so typical of his mother. And to think, Kol had actually believed she wanted to be a family again, which was why for a time, he had actually tried to follow under her rules.

"Why would she need all of my family to drink from the wine?" Kol asked, making Caroline's shoulders tense up, "unless she wants to kill all of us…but that's not possible. She wouldn't kill her own family, would she?"

Caroline looked away from Kol's gaze, it caused her too much guilt to look into his eyes. She couldn't admit the truth.

Kol watched her firmly, his brows furrowing in anger, "_would _she?" he repeated harshly. Caroline however didn't respond. She continued to look at the ground, anxious as ever; the words simply couldn't fall from her mouth.

The original eventually grew impatient, suddenly grabbing a strong hold on her neck and throwing her against the nearest tree, pinning himself against her. "Answer me!" he growled, moving his face a mere few inches away.

"-YES! Okay, yes!" she responded frustrated, choking under his grip. "Esther wants…to kill your family…She thinks you're-n' abomination of nature and…must be destroyed." Caroline tried to breath, but the air flow had been cut off by the harsh grip of Kol's hand. It made it increasingly difficult to cough as well.

Kol froze his face, void of any emotions. Caroline wasn't sure whether he was angry, sad or just plain homicidal. He just stood there staring at her, his hand still tightly clasped around her neck. She was on the verge of collapse. No one was around to help her, and she couldn't scream out since the ability to talk had been cut off along with her breathing. Not to mention that the pain was unbearable for her to handle.

"Please-" she managed to choke out, eyes ready to pop right out of their sockets. To Caroline's relief, Kol finally released his grip, causing her to drop to the ground, gasping for air. She gripped the dirt with her hands as her coughing increased, struggling for steady air flow to get pumping through her veins again. Kol didn't seem to notice her; he didn't even seem to care. He simply walked off, not taking a second look back.

Caroline looked up as Kol walked further away from her. She struggled to lift herself up off the ground, almost tumbling back down. But she managed to keep herself steady and stagger forwards. "Wait," she called, falling back down on her hands and knees. She sighed, rolling her eyes and getting back up, furious that she couldn't control her body.

The blonde vampire finally managed to catch up to the original, staggering beside him as he marched back to the bonfire. People were still dancing, but it had gotten a little more intense. Some had lost the ability to walk; others had seemed to have lost their clothing.

"Kol…" she breathed, but he simply ignored her, continuing to walk through the hordes of people. "Kol, where are you going?!"

He still dismissed her question. Caroline grew tried and grabbed onto his shoulder pulling him back. "KOL!" she shouted, not meaning to shout so loudly in his face. She managed to finally grab his attention as he looked irritably into her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologised, letting go of his shoulder.

"That means nothing, love," he responded, forcing a smirk to grace his face, "After what you did to me and my brother, I don't think I can stand the sight of you ever again."

"Are you going to tell Klaus?" she asked, knowing it was pointless. He was going to tell him anyway, no matter how much Caroline hated it.

"I don't know. It seems like some pretty important information, I might add," Kol responded, Caroline not knowing if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Please don't," Caroline pleaded.

"What you _think_ means nothing to me," Kol confessed, narrowing his eyes. "In fact, _you _mean nothing to me."

Her heart dropped at his statement. Tears had already begun to fill her eyes. Caroline couldn't handle him staring at her like that anymore; she buried her face into her hands, and decided to storm off. Kol's figure grew smaller as her walk turned into a slight run; running through the wild crowd, through the trees and across the dark highway. Home was the only place she wanted to be right now.

OOO

"Elijah, we got a problem," Kol informed his brother over the phone, tightening his grip on the device in anger, almost ready to break the incessant thing.

"Not again," he groaned, sighing through the speaker having already heard that phrase a few too many times from his youngest brother. "Mother told us specifically to keep a low profile…which means _no_ feeding, _no_ compelling, and especially _no_ killing, is that clear?"

"No! It's not that!" Kol responded quickly, "I need to talk to you in person. It really is urgent this time," he demanded, pacing the dirt. He couldn't be nervous! Kol doesn't get nervous; he makes other people nervous. Somehow, his mother out to kill them, really had him troubled. For starters, she might actually succeed in killing them all. And secondly, his _own_ mother was willing to destroy them permanently. What did that say about his family?

"As urgent as all the previous times?" Elijah questioned curiously. He wasn't about to offer his help if Kol was simply making it seem more important than it actually was.

"Worse," he answered, running his hand through his short brown hair.

Elijah must've sense his worried tone through the phone. "What is it?" he asked concerned.

"These words can't be spoken over the phone," Kol cautioned, looking around suspiciously. Klaus couldn't find out just yet. And he guessed his sister could be somewhere close by. He didn't want too many people knowing in case word got back to Esther that he found out about her foolish plan.

Kol might be the most irresponsible one in his family, so he'd always turned to Elijah for the 'responsible' way out of things.

"Fine," Elijah agreed, making Kol relax a little more. "Meet at the usual place?"

Kol nodded, but realised he was speaking through a phone, and Elijah couldn't physically see him nod. "uh-yes," he spoke quickly, still not overly used to these strange devices.

Before he hung up, Elijah sighed heavily, muttering "I'd better not regret this."

Kol dropped the phone from his face, staring blankly at the ground in deep thought. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Not only had Caroline fooled him, she had Klaus fooled as well. Something inside him was ushering him to get back at Caroline and satisfy his revenge for what she'd done to him, but another said it was completely pointless, and would achieve absolutely nothing. He'd deal with Caroline later; right now he had to figure what to do with his mother.

He decided he'd meet up with Elijah first and sort things out then. Kol turned around and was about to depart this sad excuse for a party, but a voice cut him off suddenly.

"Kol," Klaus called, causing him to stop still closing his eyes in rage, hoping that voice would disappear.

"So what problem exactly have you gotten yourself into this time?" Klaus asked. Kol opened his eyes. Nope. The voice was unfortunately not going away anytime soon.

"That's really none of your concern Nik," Kol replied, turning around to face his annoying hybrid brother.

"Well if it's that important that you have to confide in Elijah about, then…it is my concern." Kol raised his eyebrows at his brother, showing his snarky attitude by folding his arms casually across his chest.

"Is that so?" he replied, stepping around Klaus, and circling him like a hawk. "So everything I tell Elijah, I have to pass it on to you first."

Klaus nodded, "Exactly," following Kol's slow movement.

"See…I don't trust you as much as I trust Elijah, so why on earth would this be any different," Kol stopped right behind Klaus.

"Cut the crap Kol, I saw Caroline walk off almost in tears," Klaus informed, turning himself so he came face to face with his youngest brother. Kol narrowed his eyes, showing a clear sign of irritation on his face. "Now I bet it had something to do with you," Klaus continued, a mere inches away from Kol's face.

Kol paused for a moment, and then started to chuckle menacingly, "Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" Kol taunted, his smirk etching up further into a full blown grin. That only worked to annoy Klaus even further. "Are you jealous that _I_ have more of an affect on her than you do?" Kol gently folded down the collar to Klaus' shirt, tidying it up a little just to piss his brother off further.

"I mean, it's obvious that you like her," Kol pointed out, dusting off Klaus' jacket, causing the hybrid to flinch back a little, "I guess after I'm through with her, you're free to do whatever you please."

Klaus growled, suddenly losing his temper and slamming his head into his brother, sending him flying across the area along the ground into the nearby tree. Kol groaned from the sudden fall, a bit hazy from the violent blow on the head. His impact into the tree caused it to crack under his pressure, making it topple forward towards the ground.

The loud bang and the falling tree caught the attention of the surrounding people. Loud screams filled the whole area, as many quickly evacuated to avoid getting hit by the falling branches. Many were in a state of panic, as more and more heavy branches continued to bear down on them.

Kol sped away before the tree fell completely over, covering most of the area in leaves and broken branches. He darted forwards, grabbing onto Klaus and pushing him onto the ground using his vampire speed. Kol looked down at his brother and saw pure hatred written on his face. He was enjoying every second of this. When Klaus was angry, his fighting skills were always so poorly executed; one of the reasons why Kol liked to rival him up all the time.

Klaus drew back his fist and punched Kol right across the face, sending him flying backwards across the ground. This time it was Klaus' turn to dart forwards, landing on top of his brother to secure several more punches to his face.

It caused blood to spill out from his face, but it quickly healed, causing hardly any damage unfortunately for Klaus. Sometimes he wished his family weren't originals, that way he'd probably win against Kol in a fair fight. He stood up and grabbed Kol by the collar, lifting him roughly in the air and throwing him across the ground, causing a long dirt trail in his brother's wake.

"Feel better?!" Kol shouted, standing up and dusting the dirt off his pants.

"Not in the slightest," Klaus replied, smirking and running forwards to punch Kol squarely on the nose. Kol however dodged his blow, causing him to clumsily stumble forwards.

Kol grabbed him before he could fall over, and threw him straight into the ground. Kol pulled back his fist, and hit Klaus right on the nose, causing the sound of a slight crack echoing through the woods. He was about to lay another one on Klaus, when he was pulled back violently with two strong hands, interrupting their little brawl.

"Enough! Both of you!" Rebekah shouted, pushing Kol on his chest when he attempted to step forwards again. He simply looked straight forward at Klaus, wanting to finish what they had started. Rebekah, however, was in his way. "Get out of my way Bekah," he demanded.

"No! I've had enough with all of your games!" she complained, finally grabbing the attention of both her brothers.

"You've completely ruined this night for me! Both of you practically scared everyone away, and now I'm left alone to clean up the mess…AGAIN!"

Klaus stepped up off the ground, holding his bloodied nose between his fingers. "I don't care what's going on with that vampire blonde _whore _you're both hopelessly attracted to, I just want it fixed!"

They both looked surprised and scared at their sister's outburst, unsure of what exactly they should do or say to her. "NOW!"

"Okay!" Kol answered, "Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"What?" Rebekah asked narrowing her eyes, giving him a rather frightening look.

"You heard me," he responded. Rebekah rolled her eyes growling, pushing him into the direction of the car.

"Don't poke the bear Kol," Klaus taunted, following after them, "she has claws."

"Don't start Nik," Rebekah sighed, kicking a branch along as she walked. Kol smirked, amused by his siblings small banter. "And wipe that smile off of your face, Kol." He looked completely innocent, acting rather surprised as if he didn't do anything.

"Lighten up Rebekah," Klaus teased, earning him another angry look from his sister. Kol wiped the smile off of his face when he remembered his earlier encounter with Caroline. If Esther was successful in killing the originals, she wouldn't only be destroying them, she'd be destroying the entire vampire race. But Kol figured she knew that already.

And those Salvatore vampires seem to be so bent on killing his family, they didn't see the bigger picture. Kol looked to his siblings and prayed that Elijah would have some kind of plan up his sleeve.

**A/N: **Well, I guess you're glad I updated a lot sooner compared to last time, I am definitely. This chapter I hope was to your liking, I'm not very good at writing fight scenes, but I tried anyway: P The poll results between Klaus and Kol were very close, Kol winning by one.

**Here are last week's poll results:**

Kol - 46 percent

Klaus – 40 percent

Caroline - 13 percent

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope to hear more from you guys. I like reading all the lovely feedback or suggestions from everyone J


	16. Chapter 16 Almost A Kiss

**A/N: **Posting a chapter in celebration of vampire diaries starting up again! Episode 10 was simply amazing! And the originals are finally back! Minus Elijah though :/

**Almost a Kiss**

Kol managed to finally escape Klaus and Rebekah without them noticing anything too suspicious. He entered the grill, looking around frantically for Elijah. He was seated quietly in a booth, sipping from a mug from what Kol guessed to be black coffee. It was his favourite drink surprisingly besides red wine.

He approached his brother, quickly sitting across from him. "My apologies for taking so long," Kol started. Elijah placed his mug back on the table, looking firmly towards Kol.

"I was beginning to worry," he responded, swallowing the liquid with a firm gaze. Kol smiled in content.

"That's a touching thought," he sneered, but his smile quickly diminished remembering why he had asked to meet up in the first place. "But we have a much bigger problem than worrying about myself…although it does flatter me that you care."

"Just…get on with it," Elijah demanded, sighing heavily through his nose.

Kol looked around the bar, seeing if he could spot anyone that looked familiar. So far, all the people that currently occupied the place consisted of a couple sitting and enjoying a lovely meal in silence, and the usual drunk man seated at the bar.

He couldn't take the risk though, so he grabbed his phone out, typing in what he needed to say. It took him a while, since he hadn't so much acquired the skill of texting, as he did calling. Elijah raised one eyebrow.

"What exactly are you doing?" Elijah asked curiously.

"I'm texting," Kol said firmly. He concentrated back on the screen, slowly finding each of the letters needed.

"Who are you texting?" Kol looked up impatiently from his phone.

"You." He continued his texting, but Elijah still looked to be as confused as before.

"Why? I'm right here," he stated, making Kol sigh in frustration.

"There," Kol answered, slamming his phone down onto the table. Soon after, Elijah's phone started to buzz in his pocket. He grabbed it out of his pants, looking at the screen that displayed a short message. He blinked, adjusting his eyes to the miniature writing on the screen.

"Esther is-"

Kol widened his eyes, "Not out loud," he whispered harshly. "Otherwise what would be the use in texting?" Elijah shook his head, still not sure why he was agreeing to this. He still figured it was another one of his pointless games, but he immediately changed his mind once he read the text.

**KOL: **_Esther is planning to kill us!_

Elijah looked up at Kol suddenly, "Oh," he responded, realising why the subtlety. He nodded his head, and looked back down and began to write a reply.

**ELIJAH: **_Are you sure?_

Kol read the message, and rolled his eyes.

**KOL: **_YES I'm sure! _

Elijah's phone vibrated again, and he started texting back immediately when he saw the message. To Kol's surprise he was a rather fast texter.

**ELIJAH: **_But how can you be sure?_

**KOL: **_Caroline, who else? She never knows how to keep quiet._

**ELIJAH: **_Oh. What did Niklaus say about this?_

**KOL: **_Nothing. I haven't told him yet._

**ELIJAH: **_Good. Let's keep it that way._

Kol raised both of his eyebrows at Elijah, surprised he would keep such a secret from his own hybrid brother.

**KOL: **_Since when did you become such a…shrewd?_

**ELIJAH: **_I'm not a shrewd._

**KOL: **_Yes you are._

Elijah placed his phone down in frustration. "This is pointless," he stated. Kol however continued to type another message.

**KOL: **_No it isn't!_ _And shut up! Do you really want anyone to overhear our conversation? Didn't think so!_

**ELIJAH: **_Fine. But I'm not a shrewd._

**KOL: **_Fine! _

**KOL: **_And yes you are._

He looked at Kol in impatience. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Kol!" Elijah warned, on the very edge of walking away and forgetting that he ever mentioned his mother.

"Alright alright, I'll stop," Kol admitted, his smirk never leaving his face. He returned back to his phone, and typed in another message.

**KOL: **_So what's the plan?_

Kol came to Elijah because he knew he'd have a responsible and foolproof plan. He was much more reliable compared to his sister or Klaus. Or so he thought.

**ELIJAH: **_Talk to Damon._

**KOL: **_That's the plan?_

What sort of plan was that?

**ELIJAH: **_Yes, he'll help us._

**KOL: **_What makes you think he'll help us? Isn't he the one helping __**Esther**__?!_

**ELIJAH: **_I'll make him._

**KOL: **_Some plan expert you are._

**ELIJAH: **_We'll talk to him before the ritual begins tomorrow night._

**KOL: **_Okay fine. You know what's best. _

OOO

Caroline couldn't even make it to the door before collapsing on her knees in front of it. She was seeing three of everything, and couldn't make out which one was the right door. Pouting slightly, she tilted to the right, landing on her backside.

"Caroline?"

She felt a pair of hands grab her and pull her up. It was Klaus.

"Oh great, original brother number two," she complained, yanking herself away from him. Caroline stumbled backwards a bit. "I actually wish I'd never met either of you."

She almost fell backwards, but Klaus caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "If you were coherent, you would thank me for doing this," he said, lifting her up by the knees. She leaned sleepily into his shoulder, draping an arm across his back as he carried her inside.

Caroline laughed. "Don't count on it."

Klaus lifted her through the door, careful not to bump her head, and closed it shut behind him. He slowly ascended the stairs, heading towards her bedroom. Her eyes were already closed. She felt rather comfortable being in his warm embrace. It felt right.

She groaned tiredly, rolling her head to the side.

"Shhhh," he hushed, gently placing her upon the bed. He turned the bedside lamp on, lighting the room to a warm glow. He sat by her side, running a hand slowly down her cheek. "Klaus?" she asked softly.

"Mmmmm?"

"Do I mean nothing to you?" Klaus looked at her puzzled.

"What?"

"Do I mean nothing to you," she repeated, looking up at him with a wounded expression.

"Ahhh, so this is what my brother said to you?"

Caroline sat up quickly in shock, "What? No! I mean…yes…wait-" she couldn't properly produce the words to explain herself. It was embarrassing…for her. "Just…answer the question."

"No, of course not sweetheart," he responded sincerely. Caroline's face brightened up.

"No…as in you won't answer the question? Or no as in I do mean something to you?" She asked unsurely. Klaus placed a hand on her leg, looking up into her eyes.

"If you meant nothing to me, I wouldn't even be here," he responded.

Her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"Smooth."

Klaus chuckled, relieved to see her blissful personality back in check; her being happy, made him happy…wait, what? What was wrong with him? He should be focusing on making himself happy. But for some strange reason, he _was_ happy, sitting beside her on the bed.

"So…now I suppose you want a kiss goodnight," Caroline commented flippantly, breaking the silence.

Klaus rolled his eyes, and in a sudden daring move, gripped the small woman by the waist and lifted her up off the bed, and into his arms. He stared down at her, grinning like a little child on Christmas morning.

She yelped, and tried pushing him away, but she was drunk, and he was too strong.

"Klaus, what the hell?" Caroline looked up at him angrily at the sudden contact. He obviously didn't get her sarcasm.

Feeling confident he had her firmly in his grasp, Klaus lifted a hand and ran it across her cheek, leaning closer towards her surprised face. He certainly had her mesmerized by his sudden advances. He leaned forward, making her lean back and keeping her off balance.

"I'm not going to kiss you." He said in a low voice.

_Wait, he's not going to kiss me good night? _Caroline thought confused. Even after their whole wager?

Klaus pressed forward as if he was going to tell her a secret, his lips were just a breath away from her ear as his right hand fisted in her hair.

"While you have been a completely obnoxious little troll…" his words lingered in her ear like a caress as his lips moved down her cheek making her heart beat just a little bit faster.

"…I can overlook your bad attitude towards me, because I know my brother can be a little intimidating."

Caroline closed her eyes as his mouth brushed her forehead and she leaned in towards his warm body. She was acutely aware of his masculine scent – the aftershave, the light smell of an exotic sandalwood soap and wondered what his kiss would taste like.

Instead, Klaus' left hand brushed the outline of her jaw and teased the lobe of her ear, the motion was so incredibly intimate and heart stopping but he still hadn't kissed her!

It would have been just the easiest thing in the world to lean in and put his lips against her soft pink ones…one of the most innocent of moves, but Klaus loved the feeling of power he had over the manipulating blonde vampire. She had played with his feelings, acting like she was genuinely attracted to him, but approaching his brother instead.

He was quite aware of her urge to close the distance between them.

His mouth was at her throat where he could feel her pulse beating wildly against his lips.

"I want you to remember this moment." He whispered.

She whimpered and nodded her head.

"You looked absolutely beautiful tonight, and I thought it was important that you know that."

His hand was now gently holding her face.

Caroline's heart was shouting, "_kissmekissme…!" _Blood was surging through her veins and all of her senses were heightened further. Her judgement was completely clouded. She couldn't let Klaus kiss her; it would be like…losing. She was completely vulnerable against his touch, and she hated it! He had even pulled the 'you look beautiful' phrase on her, and that had made her even more defenceless against him, knowing how self conscious she was about her appearance earlier today.

She could feel his gently touch sending shivers along her skin.

"_kissmekissmekissme…!"_

_No!_ Caroline thought, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

Klaus smiled at this new power – this was more like it. His soft side of himself immediately changed to charming and seductive.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Klaus broke the silence.

"Uh…yeah sure."

Klaus however didn't let go; his lips hovered over hers but never touched. They shared the same warm minty breath but there was no kiss. This was more sensual than that – it was a kind of burning intensity that Caroline had never experienced and she liked it.

He pressed his cheek against hers and whispered, "Goodbye sweetheart." Then he let her go and headed towards the direction of the door.

With shaky limbs Caroline blinked twice and realised the absence of contact. She took a moment to collect herself. Could it be that Klaus was turning her on?

"Oh and one more question," Klaus added, turning around at the doorway. "What was it my brother was so angry about? He seemed irritated every time I'd mention your name."

"Nothing," Caroline responded innocently.

"I don't believe that," Klaus replied smirking.

Caroline quickly placed a hand on his lips, silencing his demands. "Just drop it, and maybe you'll get your answer in the morning."

"But…"

She pushed him through the door and closed it before he could get another word in. The sound of a chuckle was all she heard before he made his exit.

Caroline sighed heavily; staggering over to her bed lazily and throwing her body face down on the bed. She buried her face into her pillow and groaned loudly into the soft fabric. School didn't seem very appealing to her, Klaus would eventually find out about her helping Esther to kill the originals, and it wasn't going to end well for either of them.

**A/N: **A short chapter, but I didn't want to make it too long considering the next few chapters are going to have a lot more happening in them. I've already written two pages of the next chapter! I did a little Klaroline scene this chapter for Klaus and Caroline fans ;) Will be more up next chapter! :P

**Here are last week's poll results!**

Caroline's House – 75 percent

School – 12 percent

The Grill – 12 percent

Mikaelson Mansion – 0 percent

Salvatore Boarding House – 0 percent

Cemetery – 0 percent

**Next poll is up! Almost forgot last week! XD**


	17. Chapter 17 Choosing Your Options

**Choosing Your Options**

Holding a glass of his favourite whiskey, Damon was lazily seated on the couch, reading a rather glum book. He honestly had no other way to pass the time before tomorrow's 'ritual thing.' Everything always came down to performing some complicated voodoo magic that Damon found awfully repetitive and boring. It was exhausting!

Stefan entered the hallway of the front door, curiously grabbing Damon's attention. His brother looked awfully tense as he patted the pockets of his jean pants, a worried expression on his face.

Damon placed the book down, staring at his brother in amusement. "Lost something?" he asked in a low voice.

"I can't find the car keys," Stefan responded, frantically checking the drawers that might hold what he was looking for.

"Where are you going?" Damon smirked when he noticed Stefan had stopped still, staring at his brother with an innocent look on his face.

"Out," he responded a bit too suspiciously fast with a blank expression.

"Mmmmm…Out, as in, check on Elena," Damon stated sarcastically, grinning, "Okay then, bye bye." He continued reading, acting as if he didn't notice Stefan's quick change in expression.

"Don't play games with me Damon," Stefan challenged, his anger rising while slamming the drawers shut.

"I'm not the one playing games here squirrel snatcher," Damon taunted, not looking up from his book.

"You want to make me say it, fine," Stefan started pacing the room furiously, "I'm _freakin' _hungry… And waiting around for Klaus to be killed is time consuming. I _need _blood."

"And break your bunny diet? And here I thought I'd seen the last of 'Rippah Stefan.' What does Elena have to say about this?"

"Just drop it Damon," Stefan responded angrily, heading towards the door. If Damon wouldn't hand over the keys, he'd just walk then.

"So no Elena visit then?"

Stefan stood motionless, turning around as his whole demeanour completely changed. Damon expected a hint of anger in his younger brother, but he seemed perfectly calm and composed.

"If you want Elena, then all you have to do is ask," he stated simply, causing Damon to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Okay then…can I have Elena?" he dared ask.

"No."

Damon flung his hands in defeat. "You're really not much help as 'Rippah Stefan,' are you?"

"Well, I'd like to help you…but not as much as I'd like _not _to."

Damon exaggerated his hurt reaction to Stefan's statement, gasping loudly. "My feelings are hurt. Where's your manners Stefan?"

Stefan scoffed at his brother, wanting to make his dramatic exit by storming out and slamming the door, but he stopped to the sound of knocking.

Damon stood up curiously, frowning at their front door that had been knocked on. Stefan looked back at Damon, giving him a concerned look. They were not expecting any visitors at such a late hour.

They both approached the door cautiously.

"Who do you reckon that would be?" Damon whispered raising an eyebrow. Stefan shrugged his shoulders shaking his head.

"Trick or Treat!" A loud highly accented voice shouted from the other side, alerting both Salvatore brothers. Damon opened the door promptly, his eyes widening at the pair of originals that were standing on their doorstep. "Damon," Elijah greeted with a warm expression.

Damon cursed, looking into the eyes of Kol and Elijah. "Why does this house always seem to attract originals?"

"What, isn't that what they say when one is asking for candy?" Kol questioned with the tilt of his head.

Stefan looked at Kol in disbelief. "No," he responded, "That's only on Halloween."

Kol frowned. "Oh, that's a damn shame. Can we come in?"

"Absolutely not!" Damon protested, stepping in Kol's way when he marched forward. Stefan turned towards his older brother smirking.

"Oh come now, where's your manners brother?" Kol lifted his head and smiled at Stefan, as he gestured them in.

"I knew there had to be a reason why Nik and Bekah had wasted so much time with this one," Kol stated impressed, stepping by Damon and entering the house.

"Thank you," Elijah spoke politely, following Kol's movements. Damon stood shocked as Stefan gave him another one of his devil smirks. He shut the door in frustration. "Unbelievable," he told himself.

Kol grabbed Damon's glass of whiskey that was placed on a small table, and made himself comfortable on the couch, lazily crossing his legs one over the other. "Let's make this easy shall we?" he started, Damon's lips twitching in anger as he drunk from his own glass that he had been enjoying earlier before being disturbed.

"Make what easy exactly," Damon asked, forcing his patience. "Elijah?"

The older original placed his hands in his pockets a rather anxious expression on his face. Stefan noticed his shoulders tense up in anxiety. "You seem worried," he observed in shock.

"Elijah's always worried," Kol added, "He's a little girl in big boy pants." The older original looked sternly at his brother warning him to back off. He turned back to the Salvatore's to provide an explanation for their sudden arrival.

"I know you're helping my mother to succeed in killing my family tomorrow night," Elijah started, causing Damon to eye his younger brother. "So making up pointless excuses will be no use."

"What…uh…what do you want us to do?" Damon asked, looking to Kol who had happily finished the rest of his glass and grabbing the tumbler to pour some more.

"Help us."

"And if we refuse?" Stefan added curiously.

Kol cleared his throat, leaning forward to engage in the conversation. "Well then, I'll have to pay your lovely doppelganger a visit. Or even the pretty little Caroline. I already have some unfinished business to tend to with her, so why not?"

"Elijah how could you-" Damon started, but was cut off as Elijah raised his hand to silence him.

"You should listen to my brother. He won't hesitate to _try_ and kill Elena, and it won't be a very pleasant experience for her. I'd hate it dearly if that were to happen."

"_Try? _Oh Elijah, you make me laugh," Kol chuckled menacingly. "I won't _try _tokill her, I _will._ But not before I've had a taste of her myself." Damon narrowed his eyes angrily, inching forward instantly. "I hear she's quite scrumptious."

"Kol," Elijah warned sternly, noticing the way both of the Salvatore's flinched in anger at the sound of his words. Kol rose his glass at Elijah, leaning back onto the couch.

"So if that is all," Elijah continued, looking towards Kol.

"Alrighty then...you're attending the football game tomorrow night, and I remind you that Elena will be there," Kol explained, letting a small smirk grace his face, "So don't even think to make any funny business."

Damon looked to Stefan, as if asking his permission to take action against the two originals before they even laid a hand on Elena.

But his younger brother simply nodded, telling him to back down. Damon breathed out a heavy sigh, giving up completely on the plan he was already forming in his head. "Fine," he agreed irritated, "When exactly is this whole 'game plan' going down?"

"When the game starts," Elijah responded simply.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Can it be during half time at least?"

Elijah looked thoughtful for a second, "No." Kol sniggered at Stefan's impatience, rising from the couch as his brother headed towards the door.

"Look at the bright side mate," Kol started, slapping him on the shoulder.

"What bright side?" Stefan complained, staring straight at the younger original with dark eyes.

"I said look at the bright side, not at me." Kol walked off laughing as the Salvatore's watched both originals exit the house, completely stunned.

Damon blinked twice, surprised at how fast their luck turned upside down. "How did that happen?"

OOO

Caroline slammed the door to her car when she arrived late the next morning. It hadn't been a goodnight for her let alone a good morning. Her mind hadn't allowed her to sleep at all last night. She had stayed up in bed, thinking how to break it to Klaus about her killing his whole family without him going all 'ape-shit' on her. She was convinced he wouldn't take the news very lightly.

So her options were:

**1. **To not tell him, ripping out her heart for lying to him

**OR**

**2. **Tell him, and rip out her heart for betraying him.

It was a lose-lose situation. Still, after everything, Caroline felt like she just got lucky. Lucky to still be alive, lucky to not have her ass handed to her by Kol, and lucky she hasn't gotten a detention yet for turning up late to school almost every day this week.

Caroline quickly scurried down the empty hallway applying a quick coat of press powder onto her face, almost dropping her phone in the process. Her hair was dishevelled and eyes bloodshot from the lack of sleep, but these tiny distractions were the least of her worries, even though they did add to it somewhat.

Juggling her hand bag and phone, Caroline attempted to open her locker, but failed as it broke off instantly from her impatient mood this morning. She sighed in frustration, chucking her materials and broken lock inside. She grabbed the books she need for first period closing her locker.

Turning to hurry back down the hallway, she immediately came face to face with Alaric, almost bumping into the man. Caroline stopped for a second.

"Caroline," Alaric greeted easily as shocked as she was. "Late to history again are we?"

"Shouldn't you be there right now?" Caroline pointed out, causing her history teacher to smile. "Leaving your students unsupervised is rather reckless of you Mr Saltzman."

"That's why I left them watching a movie while I had to explain my absence last week. It should distract them enough."

"Oh," Caroline responded. She broke eye contact immediately, looking down at the ground. "Don't suppose I can get out of a detention?"

He hesitated for a moment, but his smile returned leading the blonde down the hallway back to class. "I suppose I can let it slide this time." Caroline breathed out a heavy sigh, thankful for having him as a teacher. "This time," he highlighted firmly.

Alaric gestured her into the classroom, in which she came across several worried looks from Elena, Bonnie and Stefan. She avoided their eye contacts, knowing she'd have to get a lecture about it later. Rebekah merely smirked at her tardiness, clearly amused by her unfortunate situation. Many others were engrossed in the movie thankfully and didn't notice her enter, but what mainly caught her attention was the only empty seat right next to Kol at the back.

Caroline hesitated for a moment as he narrowed his eyes at her, wondering whether to just walk out of the room and skip school all together.

"Is something a matter Caroline?" Alaric whispered.

"No, everything is fine," she responded. She reluctantly approached her seat, her heart stuck in her throat.

Kol was leaning back on his seat lazily, forcing a smirk to grace his lips, watching as she sat down slowly, and never making eye contact with his cold gaze.

He leaned forward, turning in his seat to face her. "Honestly my dear, you look like you've been rode hard and put away wet," Kol indicted openly, causing Caroline to give him a dark glare. "I don't suppose your _guilt_ has anything to do with it?"

"Shut up," Caroline emphasized strongly, quickly grabbing the attention of the whole entire classroom. Alaric looked up from his desk, looking towards the commotion.

"Can I help you with something Caroline?"

The blonde vampire merely shook her head, embarrassed by the sudden attention she received. "No Mr Saltzman."

Kol smirked at his small victory. Caroline slid down her chair in embarrassment. Luckily for her, everyone continued watching the film on the projector.

"Cheer up darling," Kol whispered, "I've been rather courteous thus far in not revealing anything to my brother."

Caroline rolled her eyes. He was actually enjoying this! Next worse thing he could do is bribe her into doing bad things. No, she wasn't going to let him do that to her.

"Well, looks like I'll have to _change_ that," she whispered back. Grabbing her phone, she started texting in her lap.

Kol looked down curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done last night." Kol leaned forward, crossing his arms one over the other on top of his desk.

Caroline couldn't believe the way he was acting. Last night he had been completely angry at her, she had actually feared for her life; and now he was back to teasing and tormenting her yet again. Well she was going to tell Klaus the truth, whether he liked it or not.

She unlocked her phone under the table, hoping Alaric wouldn't notice. Kol's eyes perked up in interest, leaning over further to see what she was doing, but she tilted the phone away from him, making it increasingly more difficult to see.

He growled in impatience.

Now, what to write…

**CAROLINE: **_Hey, so I found out your mother is planning to kill your family._

No…that couldn't work. She deleted what she wrote and began again. Maybe if she started off slowly…

**CAROLINE: **_Hi, so I was walking by the other day, and overheard that your mother is planning to kill your family._

The blonde vampire huffed in annoyance, deleting it once again.

**CAROLINE: **_Your mother is planning to kill your family._

Maybe doing it straight out might be better. But then again, it might make Klaus even angrier. Kol raised an eyebrow at her once he noticed her stressed composure. "Problem?" he asked, using his signature devilish smirk. It was like he was enjoying her anxiety.

"Aside from you, no," she whispered harshly, slamming her finger down on the delete button on her phone multiple times. Kol could hardly contain his delight in the situation.

Caroline sighed deeply. She figured telling Klaus in the moment might be the best option. Breaking it to him straight away might cause problems. Kol wouldn't make it any easier for her either. It was either she'd tell Klaus, or Kol.

So, she didn't really have any other choice.

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update, I was in Kol depression. I still haven't gotten over his death sadly, and now that Jeremy is gone as well, I've gone into more depression. The only thing that's keeping me interested in the show is Klaroline and Elijah coming back! It's a sad and dark time for Vampire Diaries.

Anyway, I've cut the chapter into two, because it was way too long. But I hope you enjoyed it! I will be updating soon this week, so be prepared. There will be more Caroline and Kol at school, as well as some Elijah moments! Sorry for any mistakes this chapter, I tried to proof read it as much as possible. Reviews are always welcome! :D

**Here are the last chapter's poll results!**

Send him a text message during class with Kol present – 38 percent

Confront Klaus face to face about the ritual – 30 percent

Leave it to Kol to tell him – 23 percent

Ask her friends for advice – 7 percent

Write a letter and drop it at his front door – 0 percent

Don't do anything, and he eventually overhears her talking about it – 0 percent

Next poll is up! I've decided to write a sequel to this story, where Kol initiates another wager with a different person. So I want you to please vote which person he should do it with.

**Which character should Kol make a wager with in my next story?**


	18. Chapter 18 Should Have Known Better

**Should Have Known Better**

Klaus felt happy.

Nothing could spoil his mood on this delightful day. He had seated himself on the couch, his legs casually placed on the coffee table, with his sketchbook in his lap. Some of the finest whiskey was placed in a glass for him on the side table, and all that was left for him to do was spend the day sketching drawings for his own entertainment.

Elijah for the past hour had been dusting his suits of any hair with a small lint brush. Klaus looked at him with amusement. The suit was draped over the single-seated couch, Elijah looking very serious while gliding the brush slowly over the material of his blazer.

Klaus' phone buzzed with life, making him sit up and reach into his pocket to pull the device out. Elijah looked up at him curiously when he noticed the hybrid smile widely as he looked at the screen, but simply ignored it and continued what he was doing.

Yes. This day was a delightful one. Klaus beamed when he saw that Caroline had sent him a message. He wondered what it could say. After last night, it could be anything. He practically had her pawning over him.

She could be asking him out on a date. Even though it was probably too soon, he did have that effect on a lot of women. Klaus was what one would call a hopeless romantic. He'd take his woman out to a special restaurant, or even a picnic under the stars. Kol on the other hand, ran purely on lust. Most women these days weren't attracted to _just _having sex all the time.

Then again, Caroline might be that kind of woman, and had texted him because she was feeling a little deprived. Klaus was fine with that. She could use him for whatever she pleased.

Smiling Klaus opened the text, expecting an essay of how much Caroline had longed for him, and she had finally come to her senses and chosen him over Kol. But when his eyes came across two small measly letters, he couldn't help but feel insulted.

**CAROLINE: **_hi_

Hi? Hi, was all she said!

It didn't have a capital letter or even a full stop at the end. Klaus growled deeply, leaning forward in frustration.

Klaus began to write a reply back.

**KLAUS: **_hello_

He smirked in satisfaction. There was no way she was getting a capital letter or full stop from him. Pressing the send button, he leaned back smirking at himself.

Not long after his phone buzzed again, alerting him to her reply. He opened the message reading it quickly.

**CAROLINE: **_can you meet me after class? i have to tell you something!_

Klaus' eyes widened in surprise. She definitely didn't want to waste any time. Not that he was complaining. He hated playing games. Although, the main reason he agreed to do the wager with Kol, was mainly his own pride. If he backed down, he'd be branded a coward for at least the next century if he was lucky. Klaus would've had to dagger Kol in order for him to shut up about it.

He started to text a reply.

**KLAUS: **_Whatever for?_

**CAROLINE: **_i'll tell you when i see you!_

**KLAUS: **_I think I know what you're referring to sweetheart._

He wasn't stupid. She was clearly interested in him. It was just a matter of time before she finally admitted her feelings. Then he'd be waiting with open arms for her. His phone buzzed yet again, making him grow a little impatient with the incessant thing.

**CAROLINE: **_wait…did Kol tell you?!_

Klaus frowned in confusion.

**KLAUS: **_Tell me what?_

**CAROLINE: **_nevermind…_

His suspicion increased even more. What would Kol know that he didn't? Did something happen between them? Maybe Kol had won the bet already, and she hadn't told him yet. Even though it might've been just a kiss, he still felt a bit betrayed.

**KLAUS: **_Tell me what Caroline?_

**CAROLINE: **_i thought Kol would've told you by now._

**KLAUS: **_Tell me what?!_

Klaus waited patiently. He was getting an answer whether she liked it or not. There was no way she could bring it up and just not tell him. But what was he supposed to do? Caroline could be really stubborn most times. At least five minutes later he finally got a reply back; it certainly took her long enough. Usually she texts within the first few minutes. He doesn't even know how she texts so fast. But one must practice this technique he supposed.

He opened up his message box once again, sighing heavily in frustration. However, once he read the text, he stood up suddenly in shock, grabbing the attention of Elijah once again.

**CAROLINE: **_That…your mother is planning to kill your family tonight_

Klaus looked to his older brother, who was completely clueless as to why the hybrid suddenly changed his disposition. It didn't surprise him as much, but it certainly peaked his interest.

"Do you know about this?" Klaus asked sternly, pointing at his phone. Elijah gave him a blank look.

"Know about what?" he responded, glancing at the phone in Klaus' hand.

Klaus pursed his lips together, clearly showing his impatience towards Elijah. "About my mother."

"I…don't know."

"Don't play stupid with me Elijah," Klaus stated harshly, "I know you would've been the first person Kol would tell."

Elijah sighed in defeat, knowing it was pointless to hide any more secrets from Klaus. "Yes. Kol did in fact tell me. But we thought it would have been best to not tell you."

"And I suppose Caroline is behind this?" Elijah hesitantly nodded in response. Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. It was so typical of Caroline. Just when Klaus thought everything was going smoothly between them both. He knew Kol had made her upset, but he didn't know what about. "How come I was kept in the dark about this?"

"Kol and I both agreed you'd raise too much suspicion."

"Lies. You just didn't trust me enough with the truth. I'll deal with you two later. I'm going to go deal with Caroline myself."

OOO

_Concentrate Caroline,_ the blonde vampire told herself.

After noticing Klaus hadn't responded to her text since this morning, her mind had been piling up with speculations.

She panicked.

It didn't help the fact that Kol was staring her down yet again during maths class. His annoying smirk planted on his face like always. She could practically feel his eyes baring a hole through her back. She didn't know what was worse, sitting beside him, or in front of him.

Tapping her foot against the table leg, Caroline sighed impatiently, looking up to the awfully slow clock. _Will it never end?! _She thought to herself.

She felt her phone buzz suddenly. Looking around, Caroline slipped her hand into her pocket, looking at the small screen from under the table, keeping a close eye on the teacher talking at the front of the classroom.

**KOL: **_That tapping is insufferable, would you please quit it!_

Rolling her eyes, Caroline turned around to give Kol a dirty look. He simply narrowed his eyes at her, as she turned back around in angry.

**CAROLINE: **_seriously? You're the one that's insufferable_

**KOL:** _I beg to differ._

Feeling her phone vibrate yet again, Caroline opened her message box roughly, to write a reply.

**CAROLINE: **_Stop being such a pompous jerk. I only got close to you and Klaus so you wouldn't discover our plan to rid the world of you. I've never had feelings for either of you, so I really wish you would just leave me alone._

When she didn't get a reply for the rest of the period, she figured she got her point across. It was when the bell rang for the end of class she got another text, but just not from the person she was expecting.

**KLAUS: **_Excuse me!?_

Caroline looked up in shock as everyone started filing out of the room. Turns out Kol had forwarded the message to his older brother, making this bad day, into her own full blown hell. The original vampire patted her hard on the back, making her flinch in pain.

"Oops, my mistake. Maybe you should choose your words more wisely next time."

He gave her one last chuckle before almost skipping out the room in delight. Caroline grabbed her stuff quickly holding it tight to her chest, before running out of the room.

Grabbing her cheerleading materials for the lunch time practice, Caroline slammed her locker shut. She settled on changing into her grey hoody and black gym shorts. The real outfit for tonight's routine was safely locked away in her closet.

Entering the girl's locker room, Caroline dumped her stuff onto the bench and grabbed her outfit for practice.

Throwing her shirt over her head, Caroline heard giggling on the other side of the lockers, and paused for a minute when they started talking.

"I wonder what her reaction would be." The voice belonged to Amber. Caroline wondered why the need for her to be in here, she hadn't been good enough to join tonight's performance. "Do you reckon she'd be upset?"

"Do you honestly think I care if she's upset?" Caroline's eyes widened when she heard Rebekah's voice as well. "Caroline deserves what's coming to her."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Caroline marched over to Amber and Rebekah, her mouth gaping open.

"What exactly would I be upset about?!"

Amber was seated on the bench and looked up at Caroline in shock. Rebekah merely smirked as she closed the door to her locker.

"Oh, hi Caroline," Amber greeted darkly, standing up to face Caroline head on.

"This really is a turn of events I was not expecting," Rebekah responded smirking.

Caroline noticed Amber had changed into the cheerleading uniform that will be used for tonight's game, and folded her arms, looking at her judgementally.

"Wow, didn't know they let tramps wear that uniform," she started.

"Well, I've seen you wear it, so I figured it was okay," Amber responded harshly making Caroline's mouth fall open even more.

"You don't know, but you just insulted yourself." Amber chuckled almost menacingly, pushing Caroline hard onto the shoulder.

"Oh, I know it. The question is, do you?"

The blonde vampire looked confused. "I just said I do."

"So did I, so you are too."

Caroline scoffed, frowning slightly. "I'm not exactly following."

Rebekah smirked. "I think one of you is a tramp, and the other knows it."

Amber glanced at Rebekah, and then back at Caroline. "Sorry Caroline," she started somewhat sarcastically, "but I think we need to talk about who's going to run things from now on."

"Fine. I'll try to use small words so you can understand me."

"That's NOT going to be good enough," Amber placed her hands on her hips. "_We…_have decided to kick you off the team."

"We? Who's we?"

Rebekah stepped forward, closing the distance between her and Caroline. "Me. Who else?"

"You really should think twice before crossing my brothers. Klaus told me, _everything_. He even said how he never wants to see your miserable face again. I bet Kol feels the same way too after what you put him through."

Caroline's heart dropped at the mention of Kol and Klaus. Everything was collapsing around her so fast. She didn't even know how to react. Should she be sad, or angry, or vindictive?

"What?" she asked gobsmacked. "You can't kick me off the team just because I hurt your brother's feelings."

"Uh…yes I can. Ask everyone else," Rebekah responded, "They all agreed with me."

Caroline couldn't believe this was happening. She worked her ass off on this routine, and now suddenly her own team had decided to kick her out. "What? How could you? That's my routine you're using."

"Sorry Caroline, but we not sorry," Amber added.

"Oh, you are _so _dead," Caroline threatened, inching forward. She was stopped however, by the blonde original stepping in her way.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she suggested, causing a sinister expression to appear on Caroline's face, "You might do something you'll regret."

Caroline's face softened, dropping herself onto the bench in defeat. Tears had filled her eyes, making her sob uncontrollably. She didn't even care about crying in front of her enemies. She didn't even notice Amber and Rebekah exit the room quietly. Everything was basically ruined for her.

She looked into the palm of her hands, a feeling of regret washing over her. Where were her friends when she needed them? They were supposed to give her advice on how to handle things. If only she didn't send that text to Kol. She didn't even mean half the stuff she wrote, it was all just to make her stop feeling this way about him and Klaus. She should have known better.

**A/N: **Poor Caroline :( But I really wanted some more drama into the story. And I've decided to put up the poll results at the end of the story. There's only a few more chapters left, and I don't want to give the plot away, because I've got something good in mind for the end. But thank you for your lovely reviews! I've reached over 200 reviews! You don't know how much I love you guys. Even the ones who don't review, I'm glad you've given up your time to read this story.

Next poll is up now! Go vote!


	19. Chapter 19 In Another Life

**In Another Life**

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hayley asked intrigued. Tyler sat opposite Hayley on his living room couch, nodding his head.

"Of course I'm sure. This is Caroline we're talking about. She'll love it." He had been back for only a day, and it had been so hard not to just storm over there and wrap his arms around Caroline. But prolonging his appearance until the right moment would make their reunion even more meaningful. Don't ask him why, but this one small thing, just seemed like something Caroline would get especially excited over.

"Well, I don't know Caroline that much, but I have a bad feeling surprising her wouldn't end so splendidly."

Tyler shook his head. "No, just trust me. She'll love it."

"Are you sure? Coming from a woman's perspective, I wouldn't want to be surprised by my lover before a cheerleading competition."

He smiled which didn't impress Hayley all too well. "You're not like most women," he pointed out. "Plus, I'll surprise her _after_ the game."

Hayley sat back in defeat. Once Tyler's mind was set, it was no point trying to convince him otherwise. It was like talking to a brick wall.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you hybrid," Hayley revealed, grabbing her brown satchel and placing it over her shoulder. Tyler gave her a puzzled look as she stood up and headed in the direction of the door.

She turned around and looked back at him expectantly. "Well c'mon!" she emphasized, startling Tyler. "We have to leave now if we wanna grab a bite to eat before the game!"

"Oh right," he responded, jumping up off the couch and following her out the door. He was immediately showered by the rain pouring down outside. He grabbed his hood and threw it over his head.

"Nice weather to be playing footy in," he groaned sarcastically, as he quickly ran around to the passenger side of the car.

"I like it," Hayley admitted, as they both stepped into their seats.

"Of course _you_ would." Tyler strapped himself in, as Hayley ignited the engine. He finished buckling in as he looked to Hayley. "Aren't you going to strap yourself in?"

She scoffed. "No, it's not like we're going to die from a car crash."

"Protection first, Tyler warned as Hayley shook her head.

"Just shut up," she smirked.

OOO

"Great, so how did he react?" Kol asked sitting in the passenger seat of their black sedan, while Elijah drove steadily in the rain along the back road of Mystic Falls to the football game. It'd be better if the Salvatore's weren't aware of their arrival until it hit half time. That meant they could catch them in surprise if they planned anything.

"Surprisingly, not so good. It turns out that Niklaus has a temper," Elijah explained, referring to Klaus' little outburst before.

Kol laughed. "I was too busy being daggered to even notice," he responded sarcastically.

"Next time, keep a closer eye on Caroline," Elijah warned, disregarding his comment, "Niklaus wouldn't hesitate daggering you for another century." Given the circumstances, Elijah was surprised he hadn't done it already. Kol had been back for only a few weeks, and he had managed to annoy Klaus more times than he could count.

"I kept a close enough eye on her," Kol acknowledged, "She's just too amusing to simply get rid of."

"I wasn't referring to killing her Kol."

"Well then what is it you were referring to?" he asked, hearing Elijah heave a heavy sigh and then respond with a slightly more dreary edge to his voice.

"I've recently noticed you've taken a liking in the young vampire. Your affections you had for Caroline, blinded you to what her intentions really were."

Kol looked at Elijah with disbelieving eyes. "Don't be absurd, I didn't have any 'affections.' That's Nik you're talking about."

His displeasure sounded through in his voice, clearly showing his discomfort.

"If I'm making you uncomfortable, we can simply move onto a different subject."

"No! No way! I'm not uncomfortable," Kol induced harshly.

"Then you wouldn't mind continuing this conversation?" Elijah asked.

"No, I didn't say that."

"As you wish," he sighed in response.

It was a little less than five minutes later when Elijah stopped the car two blocks short of the football oval, where Kol demanded Elijah stop trying to make small talk. It seemed it really did make him uncomfortable.

Stepping out of the car, both of the original brothers opened their umbrellas up to prevent themselves from getting wet.

They started walking side by side in awkward silence on the way to the stadium, already hearing lots of commotion of the football game.

Kol eventually broke the silence between them.

"So what exactly made you believe I had any attraction over Caroline?"

Elijah raised his eye at his brother.

"I thought we weren't talking about it," he stated calmly.

"Fine, let's not talk then!" Kol raised his voice, throwing his arms up in the air surrendering. Elijah breathed heavily out through his nose, impatient with his brother's constant mood changes.

"If you must know, it was the lengths you went through to _get _her. I've never seen you or Niklaus give that much attention to a woman to simply get a kiss from her."

Kol looked at Elijah suddenly in shock. "Wait, how did you-?"

"I'm not completely daft Kol. I was able to figure out the wager between Niklaus and yourself without too much difficulty," Elijah explained. "Plus, I noticed the jealousy you demonstrated every time Niklaus would bring up Caroline in conversation."

After a moment of silent thought, Kol turned slightly to face Elijah. "How?" he asked curiously. "No one else knew about it, unless you read my 'diary.'"

"Must we really go into details about it?"

Kol's eyes widened in terror, "Ah hah! You did read it!" Elijah stiffened enormously, his gaze fixed heavily upon the road they were walking down.

"Not yours to be exact. I stumbled upon Niklaus'…diary, when I endeavoured to find exactly what had caused you two to behave the way you were."

Kol scoffed, smirking playfully towards Elijah. "…and you think I'm the one that is in danger of being daggered."

Sirens suddenly rang out through the street, clearly emanating further down the road. It easily captured the attention of the two originals, causing Elijah to draw in a deep breath as a vat of cheers and applause filled their ears.

Kol looked up at Elijah smiling. "It appears the game has started without us."

OOO

Tyler sat down next to Haley in the stands carrying a bucket of warm popcorn with him. He offered her a handful and she gladly took it. Even though they were surrounded by umbrellas, the cold rain had still soaked their coats through. The warm popcorn provided the little extra heat they needed, since their jackets didn't shield them all that much.

"I can't find Caroline anywhere. She should've been here by now."

Hayley simply shrugged. "Maybe she's just late." Tyler shook his head, knowing Caroline all too well.

"She's never late to cheerleading competition. She'd be the first one down there warming up," Tyler responded, which was true. She had been practising this routine for months on end. There was no way Rebekah would have shown up for warm ups before her. He could sense something was wrong. Ever since he returned, he had this bad feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but it had something to do with Caroline.

"You're being too paranoid. She might be stuck in traffic or something, I don't know," Hayley explained unsure.

"Right. Because there would be heaps of traffic in this weather."

Hayley grabbed onto his arm, attempting to make him feel better as she noticed the irritated expression on his face. "Maybe try looking around for her; she's bound to show up eventually." Tyler smiled forcefully, nodding his head.

"Thanks," he acknowledged, standing up. "I'll be back."

OOO

Though it was early in the evening, the sky was already turning a dark blue through the bits that weren't covered by the blackened clouds. Caroline had her hood over her head but it did nothing as the rain continued to pour down immensely. She was seated at the back of the stands as the football game had just started their first round.

She noticed the cheerleading team warming up on the sidelines, getting ready for their, or more so 'her' routine at half time. The upside for Caroline was they had to do it in the cold pouring rain and not her. But that still didn't stop Rebekah's smiling face.

Thankfully, Elena finally came back with an umbrella and two buckets of popcorn, giving one of the buckets to Caroline and covering them from the rain.

"Sorry, the line outside the food van was long," Elena complained.

"That's alright. I only got a little bit wet," Caroline responded sarcastically, since the rain had practically soaked her hoddie. She wasn't much of a fan when it came to rain.

"Where's Stefan?" Elena asked, looking around at all the football jocks. Usually Stefan would be the centre of attention since he was one of the team's strongest members. Matt however had replaced him as quarter back.

"I'm actually not sure. I did see him here somewhere, but he wasn't wearing his football jersey."

Elena frowned. "Strange. I'll be back."

"Wait no-" Caroline started, but Elena took off too fast, leaving her yet again in the pouring rain. She pulled her hood further over her face, so the rain wouldn't ruin her hair too much. A whole vat a cheers sounded, as Mystic Falls scored another goal. Everyone in the stand stood up, punching their fists in the air; looks like even without Stefan, the football team had gotten slightly better.

Caroline however, didn't care. She was too depressed to care. Rebekah was performing her routine at halftime, and they probably wouldn't even credit her for it. Months of hard work and planning had been thrown out for the pigs to eat. Literally. But the problem was, that wasn't even the worst thing that had happened to her.

The amount of trouble Kol and Klaus had caused for her, she still felt guilty for basically ripping out their hearts.

After a moment of silent thought, Caroline turned her gaze, focusing on Klaus who was walking down the passageway amongst the stands towards the oval. He looked very determined for some reason. Caroline didn't even know why he was here in the first place.

She stood up giving the teenage boy seated to the right her bucket of popcorn.

"Here take this," she offered, shoving it in his face.

"Thanks," he responded suspiciously.

She pushed past the seated people quickly as he neared her row of seats. "Klaus!" she called as she reached the end of the row. But he simply ignored her and continued on, completely disregarding her presence as if she weren't there. "Klaus!?" This time she shouted even louder, which seemed to capture his attention since he stopped abruptly.

"What is it?!" he asked squeezing his lips together in impatience and turning himself around.

Caroline looked shocked for a second but she quickly recovered when she realised Klaus was waiting for her to speak. "I…" she couldn't pronounce proper words, even though she had been rehearsing what to say to him all evening. "I'm sorry."

Her heart pounded in her chest as he looked at her, really looked at her; causing Caroline's breath to catch in her throat at the harsh intensity of his gaze.

Klaus growled in response. "Save it," he spoke cruelly.

Caroline threw her hood off suddenly when he was about to walk off, not giving a care in the world about her hair getting wet. "Please, don't leave," she begged, grabbing a hold of his arm tightly.

Klaus stopped again, a hint of regret in his eyes at her sad and lonely expression, but was immediately replaced with anger.

"Please let go of me, before I rip your arm off." Being her usual stubborn self, she didn't. He was in her world now, and she wasn't going to let him go.

Because in that moment, she could see it.

In another life.

In an alternate universe.

In a different world. She would be with him in a heartbeat. That is if she hadn't have met Kol first.

If he wasn't her greatest enemy.

If things were different. But they weren't.

Suddenly afraid he could see what she was thinking of, she tried to hold onto reason but any kind of reason that was still left inside of her flew out the window as he almost was about ready to tear his arm away. Almost losing him forever.

So she kissed him.

She pulled him forward and kissed him, taking him completely off guard. He was hesitant at first, as her lips brushed tentatively over his, pausing at that first thrill of contact… But more surely, the backs of his fingers eased her blonde hair out of the way before his hands slipped to the back of her neck.

Caroline smiled against his lips as she felt him stiffen slightly and then respond accordingly. She sighed softly, trying to relax the uneasy tension in her shoulders. At first they kissed slowly, learning the feel and the taste of each other.

He was surprisingly gentle, and a little hesitant. His tongue brushed against her bottom lip, making Caroline's heart beat that little faster.

"Caroline?"

The moment she opened her eyes and turned towards the person who had just spoken her name, she froze instantly in shock. It took a brief moment to register what exactly was going on. Startled, she snapped away from Klaus, hiding her head in shame.

Her lips parted wordlessly, there was nothing; nothing she could say or do or think aside from the churn of guilt within her.

"Tyler," she breathed, her hand flew to her forehead; a vain attempt to disguise the misery she was helpless to hide.

His expression was pure horror and disgust, as if he was ashamed to even be seen with her.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked simply, his voice didn't show any emotion. It scared Caroline.

"I'm sorry, I… It just happened and-" Caroline stuttered, but was cut off by Tyler.

"-you didn't mean for me to see it. Nah, I get it Caroline," Tyler stated in a firm voice. He turned around and stormed off.

"Tyler please!" Caroline begged, racing after him. Klaus stood completely motionless, still in shock from Caroline's kiss.

He scoffed in disbelief. "I won." He was still trying to process the information through his head. The touch of Caroline's lips, Tyler's appearance, him winning the wager, how he was going to break the news to Kol. It was all so…overwhelming.

"Well well brother," Klaus looked up to Kol who had a smirk planted upon his face. "I must admit, you played quite well. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Jealous are we Kol?" Klaus couldn't help but ask.

Kol tensed at the comment. To be honest, he did feel a slight pang of jealousy at the thought of Klaus winning the wager. He would have enjoyed being the first to initiate the kiss with Caroline. But even though he didn't like the fact of losing, he still accepted the results of the game.

"Of you? No," Kol responded, "You can have Caroline. I don't think she'd be able to handle my endearing personality."

"You honestly have no lingering feelings over her?"

Disturbed by the memory of the kiss between Klaus and Caroline, Kol frowned gently in frustration, his fingers unconsciously clutching a little tighter into a fist but relaxing quickly to not arise any suspicion. He would be lying if he didn't admit he had feelings for the dear Caroline. But he himself wasn't going to divulge that information to his brother.

"I don't see why you need to know," he answered, his expression turning up into a forced smile.

"Woah, sorry for asking," Klaus apologised, raising his hands in the air. He was about to continue his answer with further sarcasm, but he was cut off suddenly to Kol groaning in agony.

"Kol?" he questioned, frowning as his younger screamed out in pain, clutching his chest. He dropped to his knees just as Klaus moved forward to catch him, instantly forgetting anything that had happened and focusing his concern onto his youngest brother.

His eyes widened when he too felt the pain rising in his chest. Kol's face began to change into a light shade of grey, veins exposing onto his skin.

"Elijah," he grumbled his voice raspy, full of worry for his older brother. Damon and Stefan must've actually been rather daring and gone against their original plan. A mistake they will surely pay for later.

Klaus heard the screams of people around him, but it didn't occur to him what exactly was going on until it was too late. As Kol drifted into unconsciousness in Klaus' arms, the hybrid turned towards Rebekah falling suddenly towards the ground, a loud thump sounding throughout the stadium.

The cheerleader pyramid collapsed upon the sudden fall caused by his sister, causing quite the commotion amongst the crowd as more and more people noticed the grey colour that had spread across Rebekah's face.

Klaus covered Kol with his jacket to not arouse anymore suspicion, and flashed away from the arena. Saving his youngest was his main objective, and then he'd deal with his mother and the two Salvatore pests that had started this debacle from the beginning.

**A/N: **Do not kill me! PLEASE do not kill me! I apologise to any Kol and Caroline fans, but Klaus had to win in order to make things easier for the sequel of Kol's second wager I want to write after this story. And don't kill me again for the late update! I had trouble writing this chapter because I didn't want to rush it. But I think I did anyway. Please tell me if this chapter is to your liking, because I feel like I was jumping too much between each of the scenes.

**Here are the last chapter's poll results!**

Jealousy (Kol) – 40 percent

Regret (Rebekah) – 20 percent

Sadness (Caroline) – 13 percent

Anger (Bonnie) - 13 percent

Bitterness (Klaus) – 6 percent

Amusement (Damon) 6 percent

Next poll is up now!

**What character do you want the next chapter based around?**


	20. Chapter 20 Forgiveness is a Luxury

**A/N: **Just to let readers know, yesterday it was exactly a year since I first published this story! :D I would have updated then, but life got the better of me. Happy 1 year anniversary readers and reviewers! ;)

**Forgiveness is a Luxury**

_Excruciating pain. _

_Even the way the word was spoken, was a reflection of silent, all-consuming pain. This is the sort of pain that causes you to writhe on the floor, mouth gaping in the very image of a scream, but no sound can force itself past the agony._

_Kol had been through it before, but each time proved to be just as painful, if not more. It is superior to death. Leaning on the precipice of death, but not being able to live or die. One could be tortured by it forever. _

_The experience was unpleasant for Kol. With agonizing pain snaking up his bare skin, leaving crumbling trails of grey and withering veins along the surface in its wake, twisting around the ribs like a corkscrew turned by a giant's hand. And the worst part, he would never die. Never know how long the pain would last…when he would wake up._

_To die would be to escape; to live would be to escape, but fearing the possibility of it occurring yet again. _

_So the pain continues on, not pausing even for a moment of unconsciousness. He could not even remember what it was like before the pain. All he could see was darkness. All he could hear was the echo of his thoughts. _

_He hated darkness. _

_It was his ally, or his enemy. It was all he knew. _

_Kol took a step forward, moving through the darkness. He heard his feet squelch along the ground. Looking down, he noticed the ground was covered in water-logged mud. _

_He cursed to himself, noticing his shoes coated in this wet mud. But it wasn't his concern considering he was technically dead or least on the precipice of death. Is this what someone feels like right before they die?_

_The previous time he was daggered hadn't been this comprehensible. It felt less real. Now he could physically feel the water seep into his shoes. He wasn't sure if it was a bad thing or a good thing that everything seemed so clear and genuine._

_Moving through the darkness, Kol's eyes narrowed wanting to see any sign of light. He was surrounded by a dark foggy abyss, making it impossible to see anything. Is this what his mind conjured up in his spare time? It seemed rather dull._

_Kol felt a small droplet of water fall onto the bridge of his nose. He looked up, and noticed rain pour down through the fog, and falling on top of him, soaking through his clothing._

Great, _he thought. Maybe having a real experience whilst being under wasn't all that terrific. _

OOO

Klaus silently cursed to himself as the rain continued to bucket down. He lifted Kol up into the boot of his car, failing at keeping him dry. Luckily there was enough room in the boot for both him _and_ Rebekah.

It had been a small feat getting his sister away from the arena. Fortunately not many had seen her fall dead. The damage hadn't been that extensive. He would keep them safe until he would find Elijah and un-dagger him, and find an explanation as to why this occurred in the first place.

Klaus slammed the boot shut, securing his siblings from any more harm and exposure to prying eyes. His task now was to find Caroline. She should have some idea of Elijah's whereabouts.

OOO

_Klaus had better grateful it wasn't him that had daggered Kol. Otherwise Kol would honestly have not forgiven the hybrid for putting him in another uncomfortable and painful position. At least it stopped raining for now._

_His worst enemies would have to be his family more so than any other (Klaus being the main example). Even though he would honestly do anything for them; would kill and show mercy for his siblings, he knows that they are the ones who will destroy him in the end, like his mother is attempting to do right at this very minute._

_Kol couldn't care less about dying; just as long as he leaves the Earth just the way he likes it. _

_He could feel his boredom growing already. This darkness just seemed to venture on and on. There was nothing he could do to pass the time quickly enough._

_"Kol."_

_Kol turned around suddenly to a sound of a gentle female voice uttering his name._

_A figure seated upon a rusty metal bench, looked up to Kol, her lush blonde hair tumbled down her back in gentle waves. Her eyes were vivid and alive, framed by the longest lashes he had ever seen. It was a beauty contorted by evil._

_He recognised her immediately upon seeing her face; Caroline, the blonde vampire that had stayed his brother's heart, and having quite an effect on his own._

_Kol smiled. It was like his mind was providing him with a source of entertainment. _

_He went to open his mouth, but nothing came out. He was completely speechless. He saw it as a gift as she stood up, walking towards his tall form._

_He immediately saw a reflection of excitement hidden in her expression, which was strange since that had never occurred around him before._

_"Is this a dream?" she asked when he didn't respond, looking around at the surroundings._

_A broad grin emerges across his face, as though her question possessed some humour. "My dream to be exact."_

_Caroline tilted her head to the side, her gaze uncertain. "So I'm a figment of your imagination?" she asked disturbed by the thought. "Great!"_

_He wasn't able to smell her blood, which in its own way was understandable; he _was_ in a state of unconsciousness. "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but your mind isn't all that exciting," Caroline stated. Even though she wasn't real, her personality still matched that same stubborn attitude that he had to endure when he was alive._

_"What would you suggest we do then?" Kol asked a little irritated; was he not as bored as her? _

_"I don't know. It's your mind, not mine."_

_"Well I can't exactly control what I think now can I? I am partly dead ."_

_Caroline scoffed as Kol stared back at her for a moment. "Fine, what do we do then?"_

_His grin reappeared on his face again, much to Caroline's dismay. "I suggest we start," Kol began, moving closer to the blonde, "by discarding each of our clothing one by one starting with you…aaaand, go!" _

_Caroline's face immediately dropped. She pushed hard onto his shoulder to move him out of her way, walking off in impatience. _

_"What?" he asked innocently. _

OOO

Outside in the rainy atmosphere of the grill, Caroline leaned her head against the window, peering inside at her _current _or more so ex-boyfriend. Klaus stopped his car on the other side of the road as soon as he spotted Caroline. He chuckled, clearly amused by her depressed state as she continued to stare at Tyler.

Caroline was unaware of Klaus watching her, and merely sighed. Tyler was seated at one of the tables inside the crowded grill, looking rather miserable.

He at least had the comfort of his female werewolf friend that he had brought back with him, from what Caroline presumed to be his 'more-than-just-friend-friend. She rolled her eyes with another heavy sigh at how her luck had gone sour in such a short amount of time. She had just escaped the outraged heartbroken hybrid that had actually _forgiven _her... what good was forgiveness.

Tyler certainly wasn't going to give that privilege to her anytime soon. _Forgiveness _couldn't turn back the clock, couldn't take back ever meeting the original family in the first place – or _lack _of them – it could not lessen her regret or her affections for the wrong person; and those who were not forgiving simply rubbed salt into the wound with their smiles, joy and laughter, their _enjoyment _of the evening; although it couldn't be said the same of Tyler.

At least he had the comfort of another. What did Caroline have? Klaus? Kol?

With as much composure as she could manage, she walked away from the window, avoiding any more confrontation that was forming inside her head. Seeing that werewolf comfort Tyler caused jealousy to ignite inside Caroline.

Klaus started his car, noticing Caroline walk off further away from his position. Maybe following her would lead him to his main objective.

Inside the grill Tyler sat breathlessly, staring at the window where she had disappeared, hands still clutching at Hayley's arms. A sense of overwhelming sadness washed over him, clawing at him.

He knows he shouldn't feel sadness, only anger. But he couldn't help but feel helpless when it came to Caroline. He pressed his eyes closed for a fleeting moment than glanced back to Hayley, who was gazing at him in concern. He felt a cold stab of pain.

"Hayley, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you –"

"No," she interrupted. "No need to apologise. It's _her _that needs to apologise, after what she did to you." She smiled bravely, stroking his hand in order to make him feel like he had someone there to support him.

In all truth, she wanted to make him forget _her, _to go back to how they had been before coming back here to Mystic Falls. It was just them against the world. He should forget Caroline. Hayley _needed _him to focus on himself, and each other. It was for the best that Caroline be cut out of his life completely.

OOO

_"When I told you to think of your favourite place, I meant somewhere like the beach, or a carnival…not some trashy bar," Caroline complained, standing amongst the crowded pub, as people drank and cheered. _

_Kol showed Caroline his pearly whites, happily strolling over to the bar. "I needed the drink. Plus, this place seems like it has _plenty_ of other entertainment to indulge in," Kol explained, observing the underdressed waitress that sauntered over to each of the tables. By this point, he was very pleased with his own mind._

_"Oh please, she's not even that attractive," Caroline observed as she noticed Kol's wandering eyes. _

_"Why? Jealous?" _

_"No," she responded, "And if I was, it would just be your mind simply making me feel jealous."_

_Kol leaned on the edge of the bar, watching as Caroline picked up her glass of vodka, drinking the small amount that had been poured for her by the bartender._

_He thought back to their first encounter at the grill. Caroline and he had shared quite a few drinks, discussing god knows what. He only remembered the kiss they had almost shared. Kol was more than capable of winning the wager at that point in time, but he wanted to give Klaus a head start. _

_That had been a mistake. He greatly underestimated his brother. _

_Caroline turned her head to look at Kol, his misery evident in the slump upon the Original's shoulders. Something had certainly darkened his spirits._

_"What's a matter with yo-"_

_She stopped, unable to properly process her words due to her airflow being cut off suddenly. Kol frowned at her, rising up in his seat._

_"Caroline?" he placed his hand on her shoulders, as she continued to take in huge raspy breaths. _

_"What-what's happening?" she asked, between the desperate gasps of air. The same thing started occurring to everyone else around him. Loud coughs and choking filled Kol's ears. The sound was quite horrifying._

_Her skin colour faded into a grey undertone, showing veins forming along her cheek. She screamed out in pain as she toppled down to the ground._

_Kol honestly didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what was happening to these people_

_He knelt down on the floor with the blonde, trying to comfort her in any way. She grabbed onto Kol's shoulders, keeping herself steady. As she did so though, Kol gasped in pain upon her touch, as he started coughing like the rest of them._

_He could feel the pain increase, looking to his hands as they changed to the same shade as her skin had._

_Kol toppled to the ground, bringing Caroline down with him._

_He laid out on the ground as the unbearable pain overwhelmed his senses. He screamed out as the pain continued to increase… _"KOL!"… _all he could see were tiny circular dots, constantly blinking at him… _"KOL! Can you hear me!" …_his brain functions were slowly shutting down…_

"Wake up Kol!" Kol opened his eyes and threw himself forward, gasping for air. He looked shock for a moment, unable to process the feeling he had just endured.

It didn't take him long to register where he was…he blinked a few times, and noticed he was in the trunk of Klaus' black sedan. Rebekah leaned over him, and was immediately pushed back the moment he sat up.

Kol clutched the middle of his chest slowly getting out of Klaus' car, still breathing extremely heavily. He placed his hands on his knees, leaning over the ground. His head spun out of control, limiting his ability to stand properly.

"Kol?" Rebekah asked worried. When he didn't register her presence, she placed her hand upon his shoulder. He flinched back, turning his head and finally looking into his sister's eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Kol stood up straight, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm fine," he responded.

Rebekah didn't seem convinced, but Kol didn't care. He wanted vengeance for whoever had done that to him.

The original took a deep breath, still scarred from the vision he had. He faced away from his puzzled sister, closing his eyes for a brief moment before turning around and finally acknowledging Rebekah.

"What happened?" Kol asked, still a little dazed.

Rebekah rose an eyebrow, curious by her brother's behaviour, but shrugged it off and responded.

"I honestly don't know. I woke up and found us locked in that trunk. Klaus obviously couldn't find any decent hiding places."

Kol could not open his mouth to reply. The exact same feeling he had with Caroline in his hallucination while daggered. He titled his head, looking away from Rebekah again.

"Tell me what's wrong," Rebekah demanded furiously, getting impatient with his behaviour.

His lips parted; blinking furiously to clear his vision, he shook his head.

It felt like he hadn't slept for weeks. Being un-daggered was certainly a different experience compared to last time.

"Nothing. I'm just curious as to why Klaus is parked outside Caroline's house," Kol responded, changing the subject. He noticed the light on in Caroline's bedroom. Klaus obviously has more important things to do than save his family from being destroyed by their own mother.

"Maybe he needed her help?"

Kol shook his head. "I doubt it." Rebekah swallowed hard, nodding in response. She knew Kol held some sort of emotion for Caroline, probably even jealously of Klaus. She honestly didn't know, and didn't even care; all she knew was that Kol had shown some affection towards Caroline, which rarely happened to him.

Normally he wouldn't waste his time pursuing other vampires, since their blood wasn't as pure as a human. Klaus on the other hand was different, he was more vulnerable to emotions, and sometimes even got the better of him. It got annoying at times throughout the centuries, but Rebekah had still chosen to stay by Klaus' side instead of Kol's, which was what probably got them both daggered.

"Well, instead of wasting time, I think it's a better idea if we find Nik and find out what happened," Rebekah suggested, a bit uncomfortable with Kol's presence. He seemed different ever since he woke up.

Kol sighed heavily. He hated making an effort. As most of his family knows, Kol wastes time often. He likes to drink whiskey at the bar without talking to anyone that didn't hold any purpose. It's kind of ironic, he wastes time considerably but can't stand it when others waste time. Especially when they could be doing something interesting or entertaining; in this case, it wasn't so entertaining.

Although, he'd rather be with his younger sister, than Elijah. His older brother deemed the most boring out of his family.

"Fine," Kol responded. He honestly didn't really feel comfortable entering the house, not knowing what he would find. Klaus would've probably taken advantage of Caroline by now. Only one way to find out.

**A/N: **This chapter was definitely difficult to write. I didn't want Kol un-daggered just yet, but you guys voted a chapter based on Kol so it resulted in this. It was definitely a challenge, but I like challenges :P I sort of explored what happens when one is daggered, I hope it was alright. And someone un-daggered Elijah, I wonder who ;)

Sorry for the lateness, I get inspiration at the worst times (Usually when I'm the busiest). Would you rather shorter chapters but updated more often? (short chapters meaning, 1,000 – 1,500 words).

**Last chapter's poll results:**

Kol – 40 percent

Klaus – 23 percent

Caroline – 15 percent

Elijah – 15 percent

Rebekah – 5 percent

Tyler - 0 percent

Next poll is up now!

**What is Kol going to find Klaus and Caroline doing?**


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